Department for Transport

Railways: North of England

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for the electrification of the Transpennine express line.

Andrew Jones: We are working with Network Rail and Transport for the North to determine the best way to achieve major improvements for passengers on the Transpennine Route and will make an announcement on the details of the first phase of work shortly.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the most recent assessment is of the benefit cost ratio for phase 2B of HS2; and whether an assessment has been made of the potential merits of running 14 trains an hour at 195mph.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: HS2 Phase 2b is estimated as delivering high value for money, with a Benefit-Cost Ratio including Wider Economic Impacts (WEIs) of 2.6 and a BCR excluding WEIs of 2.1. This analysis was presented in the Phase 2 Economic Case in 2017.https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/634196/high-speed-two-phase-two-economic-case.pdf The business case for Phase 2b assumes that up to 18 trains per hour will run on the HS2 core network at speeds of up to 225mph (360km/h). HS2 Ltd is working to the scope of the project as set out by Government. If any changes were made to these requirements then there would be an assessment of the potential impact on the business case and this work would be published.

Crossrail Line: Slough

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timeframe is for the Crossrail station at Slough to be operational.

Andrew Jones: Crossrail Limited, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London, is currently working on a revised delivery plan. Crossrail Limited has committed to delivering the full Elizabeth line services, including those to Slough, as quickly as possible once the central tunnels have been completed, to provide a service that will carry up to 200 million passengers a year. Elizabeth line services will call at the existing station at Slough which is currently, and will continue to be, served by Great Western Railway services.

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Fixed Penalties

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people received an incorrectly issued fixed penalty notice for travel on the Dartford Crossing.

Jesse Norman: All Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are believed to be correct when issued in good faith by Highways England, but under the terms of the Dart Charge scheme PCNs may be contested under the representation and independent appeals procedure for a number of reasons - including circumstances where the charging authority followed all procedures correctly. Since the start of the scheme, up to the end of December 2018, a total of 11,057,905 PCNs have been issued. Of these less than 1% (91,748) are deemed to have been issued incorrectly. This can be for a range of reasons but includes the misreading of vehicle registrations and road user charge payments being inaccurately allocated.

Thameslink Railway Line: Maidstone

Mrs Helen Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the timely implementation of the City Thameslink Service from Maidstone East before the end of 2019.

Andrew Jones: The rail industry is currently considering proposals regarding the introduction of the new Thameslink service between Maidstone East and Cambridge. The disruption following the timetable change in May 2018 was completely unacceptable and the Government is committed to ensuring that future timetable changes are comprehensively planned and managed to avoid the risk of passenger disruption.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Renewable Energy

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans the Government has to support community energy generation after the closure of the feed-in-tariff scheme in March 2019.

Claire Perry: The Government is considering its future approach and what measures might be taken to support the efforts of community organisations who want to invest in low-carbon energy installations as part of its consultation on a Smart Export Guarantee which was published on 8 January. The consultation is open until 5 March and can be assessed here:https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-for-small-scale-low-carbon-generation

Pay

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has estimated the value of wages unlawfully unpaid in the last year for which information is available by category of unlawfully unpaid wages.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the annual budget has been for the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate in each of the last three years; and how many staff that Inspectorate has employed in each of the last three years.

Kelly Tolhurst: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iron and Steel

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason there is no specific reference to the steel industry in the EU Exit: Long-term economic analysis reports published by the Government in November 2018.

Richard Harrington: The purpose of the HMG EU Exit: Long – term economic analysis report was to illustrate high level impacts on the UK from different EU Exit scenarios. It included associated costs for five broad sector groups across the economy, which together cover the majority of the UK economy and all traded goods and services:○ Manufactured Goods (including Iron & Steel);○ Agri-food;○ Services (Non-Financial and Non-Networks);○ Financial Services;○ Networks The macroeconomic modelling tools used for this analysis do not allow for disaggregation of results at individual sector level (i.e. 58 individual sectors). Extensive engagement has taken, and is taking, place between government and industry, including with steel companies, to understand the impact of EU Exit on the sector.

Nissan: Government Assistance

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether Nissan will be required to pay back any of the £2.6 million allocated to it by the Government to encourage the production of the Nissan X-Trail and Qashqai models in Sunderland.

Richard Harrington: The grant awarded to Nissan via the Regional Growth Fund was to support a specific range of investments including the production of the X-Trail.As Nissan have decided, for commercial reasons, not to progress with this project, the linked RGF grant will no longer be progressed.

Professions: Qualifications

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people in the UK who will be directly affected by the end of the mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Richard Harrington: The Department has laid draft legislation before Parliament (the draft Recognition of Professional Qualifications (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019) to ensure that in the event of the UK exiting the EU without a withdrawal agreement, the system for the recognition of EEA and Swiss professional qualifications in the UK will continue to function effectively; and that existing recognition decisions for EEA and Swiss professionals within scope of this legislation (approximately 38,000 decisions) will remain valid. In addition, the European Commission has published guidance which confirms that decisions made before exit day will not be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, but that post-exit, UK professionals will be subject to host state rules.

Professions: EU Countries

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) his policy is on and (b) assessment he has made of the ability of UK professionals to continue to practise in the EU in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Richard Harrington: The European Commission has published guidance setting out their intended approach to the recognition of professional qualifications in the absence of a negotiated deal. This confirms that recognition decisions made before exit day will not be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. It also confirms that new applications for recognition after exit day will be treated as third country applications. UK nationals seeking recognition to practice regulated professions in the EU would have to check the national policies and rules of the relevant Member State in which they intend to practice.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Diplomatic Relations: Climate Change

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of climate change on UK diplomatic relations with states that have (a) a maritime border with and (b) territorial claims to Antarctica.

Sir Alan Duncan: All countries with a territorial claim to Antarctica (Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand and Norway) are signatories of the Paris climate change agreement. We have also worked positively with them within the Antarctic Treaty System to ensure issues relating to climate change impacts are addressed. Working collaboratively with these countries, and other signatories to the Antarctic Treaty, to understand how climate change is affecting Antarctica and migrating its effects on the continent has a positive effect on UK diplomatic relations with those nations.

Asylum

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps his Department has taken to protect (a) asylum seekers and refugees in the UK and (b) their families in their country of origin from reprisals by the Government of that country.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is not responsible for protecting asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. This work is led by the Home Office. The UK does not have a duty of care to protect the families of those asylum seekers and refugees, where they live abroad. We engage regularly with a broad range of countries on human rights issues.

Venezuela: Elections

Angela Crawley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Government supports the EU in its call for the immediate commencement of a political process that can lead to legitimate free and fair elections in Venezuela.

Sir Alan Duncan: We are working closely with EU partners, regional organisations such as the Lima Group and like-minded international partners to ensure a peaceful resolution to the current crisis and a return to democracy. We urge all Venezuelans to recognise Juan Guaido as the constitutional interim President of Venezuela until new presidential elections that are free and in accordance with international democratic standards are held.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: I have had a number of recent conversations with my Turkish counterparts over the conflict in Syria, as have my ministerial colleagues and the Prime Minister. While we recognise Turkey's security interests, we are concerned about the humanitarian impact of a potential Turkish military operation, as well as the impact on the campaign against Daesh.Our priority is to end the conflict in Syria through a negotiated political settlement: we believe only an inclusive, non-sectarian government can unite the country and protect the rights of all Syrians.

Kurds: Syria and Iraq

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to ensure the protection of the Kurdish population in (a) Syria and (b) Northern Iraq.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK is a leading member of the Global Coalition against Daesh which has worked with partner forces in both Iraq and Syria to fight against Daesh and protect the local population, including Kurdish communities, in the areas concerned. We have consistently called for protection of minorities, including Kurds, in both Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, that has included through our engagement with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG); I held productive discussions with the President-elect, Prime Minister-elect and Minister of Interior and Peshmerga Affairs of the KRG during my visit to Erbil on 25 January. With respect to Syria, this has included through resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and support for a UN-facilitated political process as well as our diplomatic engagement with allies and regional partners.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Bahrain after the recent verdict against Nabeel Rajab and the hunger strike of Ali AlHajee and Naji Fateel while in Bahraini prison.

Alistair Burt: We regularly publish our assessments of the Human Rights situation in Bahrain in our annual Human Rights Report, last published in July 2018. The United Kingdom has a close relationship with Bahrain which allows us to have open and frank conversations. Where we have concerns we raise them at an appropriately senior level, including through the UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group which I co-chair with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain. We have raised the cases of Mr Rajab, Mr AlHajee and Mr Fateel at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain.

Bahrain: Prisoners

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK-trained oversight bodies in Bahrain in investigating allegations of the torture of prisoners while in custody.

Alistair Burt: We believe that the oversight bodies in Bahrain, including the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, are structured so that they are able to operate independently from the organisations that they oversee. While these bodies still have more to do, they have already demonstrated their abilities including through the prosecution of more than 70 police officers accused of human rights abuses.

Iraq Conflict

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what information the Government holds on discussions between GCHQ and the US National Security Agency on surveillance of delegates to the UN in 2003.

Sir Alan Duncan: It is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence matters.

Diplomatic Service: Finance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the budget for consular activities not based in embassies and high commissions by country in 2018-19.

Harriett Baldwin: In Financial Year 2018-19, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Consular Directorate has allocated £829,200 for partnerships with 18 non-governmental organisations, charities and safe houses in the UK and overseas. These organisations provide specialist assistance, information and support to British nationals abroad that the FCO cannot provide. In addition, £240,000 has been allocated for individual projects to help British nationals abroad.

Wilton Park: Finance

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the annual budget for Wilton Park Executive Agency for 2018-19 is.

Mark Field: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) budget for Wilton Park in 2018-19 consists of £500,000 core funding, £1.4 million in Official Development Assistance, and £250,000 in capital funding. In addition, FCO Directorates provide discretionary spending on individual events, coming to just over £900,000 for 2018-19. Wilton Park's total turnover for the year will be just under £6 million, with the rest coming from other sources.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Official Hospitality

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how many hospitality and facilities expenses exceeded £5,000 in the last financial year; and who the recipients of that hospitality was.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​In the Financial Year 2017-18 Government Hospitality in Protocol Directorate organised 37 events whose costs amounted to £5000 or more. The events were hosted to mark the following occasions:NSA Farewell ReceptionCommercial Courts DinnerSomalia Conference Welcome ReceptionSomalia Conference CateringUkraine Conference CateringFCO Leadership ConferenceDIT ReceptionFS Summer ReceptionWorld Hydrography Day RecptionP3+3 Libya ConferenceInternational Shipping Week ReceptionASEAN 50th Anniversary ReceptionBelvedere Forum ReceptionCentral European FM and PD Meeting and LunchDIT Investors DinnerWardrop Dialogue ReceptionRemembrance SundayDefence Council ReceptionCivil Service AwardsOTD ConferenceOTD JMC ReceptionHMRC Peoples' AwardsIMO 30th Anniversary ReceptionDIT Christmas ReceptionUK China P2P DialogueFS Christmas ReceptionUK-Japan FM and Defence LunchUK-France Summit LunchUK-France Summit ReceptionEducation World Forum ReceptionBaltic ReceptionBelvedere ForumPatient Safety Conference ReceptionSt David's Day ReceptionUKTI Security Policing ReceptionUK - KSA Social Inclusion DinnerFS Hosted Commonwealth Reception

Sanctions: EU Action

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 5 September 2018, Official Report, column 169, what progress the PM has made in pushing for new EU sanctions regimes against those responsible for cyber-attacks and gross human rights violations.

Sir Alan Duncan: The UK has actively supported proposals for three new EU thematic sanctions regimes in order to strengthen our international resilience to hybrid threats. These regimes are in different stages of development in the EU.The chemical weapons regime was adopted at the Foreign Affairs Council on 15 October, and on 21 January the EU adopted the first listings under that regime in response to the use of chemical weapons in Salisbury and Syria. These actions demonstrate the resolve of the UK and our allies to tackle the proliferation and use of chemical weapons in contravention of global norms.We welcomed the October European Council conclusions which gave a mandate for work on EU cyber sanctions. We are coordinating with EU partners to support the development of a cyber sanctions regime. We are also very supportive of ongoing policy discussions following the Dutch initiative to establish an EU global human rights sanctions regime. This will strengthen the EU’s ability to tackle human rights violations and abuses, wherever they may occur, and allow the EU to respond quickly and appropriately.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to her oral contribution of 5 September 2018, Official Report, column 169, what progress she has made in working with international partners to empower the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to attribute chemical weapons attacks to other states beyond Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: As set out in the statement of 13 December 2018 [HCWS1177] by the Foreign Secretary and his predecessor’s update to the House on 9 July 2018, the UK was at the forefront of significant successful diplomatic efforts last year to secure, fund and implement decisions to enable the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to attribute responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and more widely at the request of an affected State Party. In accordance with the terms of the June Decision, on 15 November 2018, the Director General of the OPCW set out the measures that the OPCW will implement to provide technical expertise on attribution to requesting States Parties and set out his proposals to establish independent, impartial, expert arrangements to assist with this. We continue to work with international partners in supporting the OPCW Director General and the OPCW Technical Secretariat to put in place structures and staffing to take forward their mandated attribution work, a significant step forward in international efforts to end use of chemical weapons.

Papua: Chemical Weapons

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the accuracy of reports that the Indonesian Armed Forces used Chemical weapons on West Papuan civilians on 15 December 2018.

Mark Field: The British Government condemns the attack on construction workers by an armed group on 2 December in Nduga district in Papua. We have called on the Indonesian authorities to ensure that the security response is proportionate. Our Ambassador has discussed this with senior officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are aware of a media claim about the possible use of white phosphorus. This has been strongly denied by the Indonesian authorities. We have been in touch with NGOs and others who have looked into the allegation; they have not found any evidence to support it.​

USA: INF Treaty

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect on the security of the UK of the US suspension of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Sir Alan Duncan: We support the US decision to suspend its participation in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and start the treaty’s formal withdrawal process. A situation where the US was respecting the INF Treaty and Russia was not, was not sustainable.Through the development and deployment of its SSC-8 cruise missile system, Russia has put European security at risk. We are working closely with all NATO Allies to review the security implications of Russian intermediate-range missiles and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure the credibility and effectiveness of the Alliance’s overall deterrence and defence posture. This was reaffirmed by NATO Allies on 2 February.

Russia: INF Treaty

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received of violations by Russia of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty since 2014.

Sir Alan Duncan: NATO Allies first expressed concerns about Russian non-compliance with its Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty obligations in 2014. These concerns have been repeated many times, including at the NATO Summit in July 2018. In December 2018, NATO Foreign Ministers offered strong support to the finding of the US that Russia was in material breach of the Treaty, citing its covert testing, production and fielding of 9M729 ground-launched cruise missile systems.The UK monitors Russian missile programmes very carefully. While we cannot go into details on matters of intelligence, we are confident in our assessment that Russia is in violation of the INF Treaty. That assessment is shared by all NATO Allies.

USA: INF Treaty

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the US Administration on their recent decision to suspend the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have been discussing the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with the US for a number of years as part of our continuous dialogue on security issues. The US also initiated a series of meetings on INF with close Allies in 2017 and 2018, during which we discussed the US approach and exchanged detailed information on the Russian violation and how we might best achieve our shared policy objectives.We support the US decision to suspend its participation in the INF Treaty and start the treaty’s formal withdrawal process. A situation where the US was respecting INF Treaty and Russia was not, was not sustainable.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Aviation

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 208387 and the Answer of 1 February 2019 to Question 212418, if he will publish the number of (a) business class, (b) economy class and (c) first-class tickets for air travel his Department has purchased in each of the past four years.

Sir Alan Duncan: The number of air travel tickets purchased by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is given in the table below. The data sets out the number of tickets booked through the Government’s nominated travel agency from June 2016, when the contract with the current travel agency began. Data on the number of tickets prior to June 2016 with the previous travel agency is not held. Economy classPremium Economy classBusiness classFirst classFinancial Year 2016-17593046114881Financial Year 2017-18893060420714Financial Year 2018-19775443115411FCO staff travelling by air are required to book the lowest standard fare possible, subject to budget holder approval. As the FCO is present in over 170 countries there is a need for long distance travel. FCO officials may fly business class only if the flight is ten hours or longer, or on flights of more than five hours in exceptional circumstances.On occasion, it may be necessary for Ministers and FCO officials to travel first class, for example where journeys need to be made at short notice and there is no availability in any other class, or due to airline limitations when booking two or more sector flights.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the human rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Field: We encourage all states to ensure that their domestic laws meet international human rights standards. Any allegations of human rights violations or abuses is concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. We raise these issues, including human rights in both Indian and Pakistani administered Kashmir, with the governments of India and Pakistan.

Philippines: Terrorism

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation in the Philippines following recent terrorist attacks in that country.

Mark Field: The security situation in Sulu province remains tense and the FCO continue to advise against all travel to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups.The UK works with the Philippines Authorities on a range of bilateral priorities including on counter terrorism.I issued a statement on 27th January condeming the recent attack in Sulu Province. The UK stands with the Philippines against terror and hatred.​

Philippines: Minority Groups

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Philippines on the protection of religious groups in that country.

Mark Field: ​The UK is committed to the promotion of human rights, including freedom of religion and belief. Whilst we have not had specific discussions with the Philippine Government on religious freedom, we have regular discussions on human rights, including our concerns about the conduct of the "war on drugs" and the situation of human rights defenders. This included the UK/Philippines High Level talks that took place on 19th November.The UK believes places of religious worship are sites for peace and reflection. The terror attacks on the Catholic Cathedral on the island of Jolo on 27 January and on a mosque in Zamboanga on 30 January go against the very essence of this.Last week the Foreign Secretary launched a review into what more the FCO network can do to support religious freedoms for Christians around the world.

Thailand: Ahmadiyya

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether his Department has made representations to the Thai government on the arbitrary arrests of Ahmadi Muslim refugees.

Mark Field: We closely followed the October 2018 detention in Thailand of approximately 100 people, mainly from Pakistan, whom the Thai authorities considered illegal immigrants. This followed arrests and refoulment of Cambodian and Vietnamese nationals in August 2018.On 2 November 2018, the Minister of State for the Commonwealth and UN, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke to the Thai ambassador in London to raise our concerns over the detention of foreign nationals, including nationals of Pakistan, in Thailand. The British Embassy Bangkok also raised the issues with the Ministry of the Interior. We believe that the actions of the Thai authorities are not aimed at any specific group or groups, but apply to anyone whom they deem an illegal visa over-stayer. The UK has repeatedly urged Thailand to sign the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. The UNHCR are working closely with the Royal Thai Government over asylum, resettlement issues, and improving conditions for genuine claimants, for example by giving them documentation that allows them to access services and protected them from persecution. We are also working with the Thai authorities to improve conditions of detention.​

Attorney General

Crown Prosecution Service: Cheshire and Merseyside

Maria Eagle: To ask the Attorney General, what the caseload of Merseyside-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service has been in each year from 2010 to 2018.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Attorney General, how many successful prosecutions have been achieved in the Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service area for each year from 2010 to 2018.

Robert Buckland: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) maintains a central record of the volumes of completed prosecutions, or caseload, by outcome as a count of the number of defendants and collates the data collected in financial years. The table below shows the number of finalised prosecutions and convictions in the Merseyside and Cheshire CPS Area during each year from 2010-11 to 2017-18.  ConvictionsNon-ConvictionsTotal Prosecutions Volume%Volume%2010-201139,90284.4%7,40215.6%47,3042011-201235,07486.4%5,53713.6%40,6112012-201331,52887.9%4,32212.1%35,8502013-201431,97188.8%4,01711.2%35,9882014-201528,12987.2%4,12312.8%32,2522015-201626,01787.3%3,80112.7%29,8182016-201726,54587.7%3,72012.3%30,2652017-201825,03786.6%3,87513.4%28,912Data Source: CPS Management Information System While the volume of prosecutions in the Area have fallen by 39% during the 8 year period, it is important to be aware that the types of cases prosecuted by Merseyside and Cheshire CPS have changed significantly in the period between 2010 and 2018. The Area is prosecuting more serious and complex cases as evidenced by a 21% increase in homicide, a 23% increase in offences against the person and a 62% increase in sexual offences cases. During this period, minor motoring cases have fallen by 52% in the Area. This followed changes to the list of specified offences made in 2012 which transferred responsibility for prosecuting many low level motoring offences back to the police.

Crown Prosecution Service: Cheshire and Merseyside

Maria Eagle: To ask the Attorney General, what the overall staffing level of Merseyside-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service was in each year from 2010 to 2018.

Robert Buckland: The overall staffing levels of the Crown Prosecution Service in Merseyside Cheshire from 2010 to 2018 are listed in the table below. Following an organisational restructure in 2011, the separate Areas of Crown Prosecution Service Merseyside and Crown Prosecution Service Cheshire combined under a single Chief Crown Prosecutor leadership to form the Area of Crown Prosecution Service Mersey Cheshire.   Head CountCPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2018240CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2017224CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2016217CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2015205CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2014223CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2013233CPS Mersey Cheshire31 December 2012282CPS Merseyside31 December 2011250CPS Cheshire31 December 201188CPS Merseyside31 December 2010255CPS Cheshire31 December 2010103  (Data Source Trent HR Database as at 31/01/2019)

Department of Health and Social Care

Kidney Cancer: Screening

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will support the call by Kidney Cancer UK to fund research on a national screening programme for kidney cancer.

Steve Brine: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy and supports implementation. Using research evidence, pilot programmes and economic evaluation, it assesses the evidence for programmes against a set of internationally recognised criteria. The UK NSC has not reviewed the evidence for a national screening programme for kidney cancer, however, the Committee welcomes new topic proposals via its annual call for topics which opens each year from September - December. Ministers carefully consider all recommendations made by the UK NSC.

Incinerators: Air Pollution

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England (i) received and (ii) commissioned assessments of the effect on peoples' health of emissions from waste incinerators disposing of plastic.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has not received or commissioned any assessments on disposing of plastic waste by incineration. When consulted, PHE provides an expert and independent opinion to the regulator, the Environment Agency, on the potential impacts on human health of emissions arising from existing or proposed regulated facilities, such as municipal waste incinerators (MWIs). Emissions from existing regulated facilities are closely monitored and regulated by the Environment Agency. PHE’s position is that well run and regulated modern MWIs are not a significant risk to public health when incinerating the general municipal waste mix which includes plastic.

Air Pollution

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2019 to Question 206215 on Air Pollution, what the implications for his policies are of the statement in the Public Health England report, published in March 2017, entitled Air Quality A Briefing for Directors of Public Health that PM is inhaled into the lungs and ultrafine PM0.1 is thought to pass into the blood causing many adverse outcomes including systemic inflammation.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has developed a programme to support national and local government to reduce the burden of disease attributable to air pollution. This includes awareness raising, developing the evidence base on the health effects of air pollution and interventions aiming to reduce exposure to air pollution and provide wider public health benefits. PHE undertakes various air quality research projects, working with academic partners, to review the evidence for the health effects of air pollutants. PHE is a partner in two health protection research units (HPRU) funded by the National Institute for Health Research, whose remit includes air pollution research: The Health impact of Environmental Hazards HPRU and the HPRU in Environmental Change and Health. Further information can be found at the following links: http://hieh.hpru.nihr.ac.uk/ http://www.hpru-ech.nihr.ac.uk/ None of the research projects specifically focus on PM0.1 but address air pollution components which are included in this category.

Food: Waste Disposal

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2019 to Question 212301 on Food Waste: Disposal, whether (a) his Department and (b) Public Health England undertook an assessment of the effect on (i) human health and (ii) air quality of the collection and recycling of food waste.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) has not made a specific assessment of the potential effect on public health of the collection and recycling of food waste. However, PHE has been involved in reviewing the current evidence for the potential health effects of bioaerosols resulting from composting facilities, including facilities recycling food waste. This assessment concluded that while there is some suggestive, albeit limited, qualitative evidence linking bioaerosol emissions from composting facilities to possible respiratory effects, further study is needed for confirmation and to explore other health outcomes. The report is available to view at the following link:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25825807The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Resources and Waste Strategy details the Government’s ambitions for minimising the environmental impacts of waste whilst maximising its value as a resource. The strategy is available to view at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/resources-and-waste-strategy-for-england

Incinerators: Air Pollution

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Public Health England assesses evidence submitted by applicants for planning permission of the projected or estimated effect of waste incinerators on (a) air quality and (b) human health of future emissions (i) PM0.1 (ii) PM1 and (iii) PM 2.5.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) is not a statutory consultee under the planning regime. Local authority planners should consider consulting the Director of Public Health on any planning applications (including at the pre-application stage) that are likely to have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of the local population or particular groups within it. This guidance can be viewed at the following links: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/consultation-and-pre-decision-matters#Statutory-consultees-on-applications https://www.gov.uk/guidance/health-and-wellbeing#health-organisation-contact. Where consulted on planning applications, PHE takes the view that emissions from such plants are best considered as part of the associated environmental permit application. PHE is consulted by the Environment Agency and provides an independent opinion on all bespoke environmental permit applications, such as municipal waste incinerators, with regard to public health impacts. These assessments cover a range of emissions to air, water and land, including but not exclusively particulate matter. The role of PHE can be viewed at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/477277/Environmental_permitting_guide_Nov_2015.pdf

Autoimmune Diseases

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the public purse of treating and managing (a) rheumatoid arthritis, (b) inflammatory bowel disease and (c) psoriasis.

Steve Brine: No specific estimate has been made.

Autoimmune Diseases

Derek Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have made a comparative assessment of the effectiveness of treating immune-mediated inflammatory conditions (i) holistically and (ii) according to the physical location of the inflammation; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: No specific assessment has been made.

Kawasaki Disease

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he is taking to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of Kawasaki disease among NHS health professionals.

Steve Brine: Guidance is available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on the assessment and initial management of fever in children under five, and this guidance includes recommendations on recognising the symptoms of Kawasaki disease. NICE’s clinical guidelines help healthcare professionals deliver the best possible care based on the best available evidence; the guidelines are not mandatory, although health and care commissioners are expected to take them fully into account. Information about the symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment and complications of Kawasaki disease is also available on the National Health Service website. Furthermore, learning information and resources for clinicians about Kawasaki disease is available from Societi, The UK Kawasaki Disease Foundation. Societi engages with a range of NHS stakeholders to raise awareness of Kawasaki disease, and has a number of senior clinicians on its Scientific Advisory Board who work in leading NHS institutions and who have expertise in relevant clinical areas such as vasculitis and paediatric cardiology.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Abbott FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring devices and sensors local clinical commissioning groups prescribed in (a) 2017-18 (b) 2018-19 to date.

Steve Brine: The NHS Business Services Authority does not hold data for FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring devices. However, prescription data for FreeStyle Libre Sensors prescribed in clinical commissioning groups in the financial years 2017/18 and 2018/19 to date can be found in the attached table. This data refers to FreeStyle Libre Sensor packs that include one sensor, one sensor applicator, and one wipe.



PQ214470 attached data
(Excel SpreadSheet, 33.77 KB)

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average length of time taken is for the FreeStyle Libre sensors to be issued to people with diabetes through the NHS.

Steve Brine: The information requested is not centrally held.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what representations his Department has made to the pharmaceutical company Abbott on the availability of FreeStyle Libre being issued to people with Type 1 diabetes from April 2019.

Steve Brine: On 14 November 2018, it was announced that flash glucose monitors will be available on prescription for every patient who qualifies for them, in line with National Health Service clinical guidelines. The Department has not made any representations to Abbott since. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning diabetes services. In doing so, CCGs need to ensure that the services they provide are fit for purpose, reflect the needs of the local population, are based on the available evidence, and take into account national guidelines. This should include consideration of access to diabetes technologies such as FreeStyle Libre.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he will take to benchmark progress against the target for increasing the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages one or two from half to three-quarters by 2028, as announced in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people that will be diagnosed with cancer at stages one or two by 2028 if the 75 per cent early diagnosis target is met.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to set targets for individual cancer types as part of the aim set out in the NHS Long Term Plan to diagnose 75 per cent of cancers at stages one or two by 2028.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan included an ambition that 55,000 more people who are diagnosed with cancer in 2028 will survive for five years. Early diagnosis is a major determinant of cancer survival and NHS England have deliberately set the early diagnosis ambition – to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028 - at a level which, under most scenarios, would be more than sufficient to meet the survival ambition. During the development of the plan, clinicians and stakeholders agreed that we should set a stretching ambition to ensure we improve the rate of diagnosis across all cancers, so many more people will survive. The NHS Long Term Plan sets out a number of key steps to achieve this ambition, including through raising greater awareness of symptoms of cancer, accelerating access to diagnosis and treatment and maximising the number of cancers that we identify through screening. Meeting this ambition will also require the National Health Service to harness new technological advances to target at risk patients more effectively; directing our research and innovation effort to the areas where the data tells us we can have the biggest impact; and mobilising the NHS so that we can adopt proven new approaches more quickly. Following the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan, the National Implementation Framework, to be published in the spring, will provide further information on how the Long Term Plan will be implemented. Additional details, based on local health system five year plans, will be brought together in a detailed national implementation plan in the autumn. We will continue to work closely with key partners and stakeholders and other voluntary sector partners, as we support the NHS to deliver the commitments set out in the Long Term Plan.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's announcement of 10 August 2018 that the age for bowel cancer screening in England will be lowered from 60 to 50, what the timetable is for implementing the lower screening age; and what assessment he has made of the effect that staff shortages in endoscopy and pathology services will have on the ability to deliver bowel cancer screening from age 50.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to introduce the faecal immunochemical test for the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Steve Brine: Plans are well underway to deliver the commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to modernise the bowel cancer screening programme; faecal immunochemical testing at 120ug/g will be integrated into the programme from April 2019. NHS England has committed to, over time, lowering the starting age for bowel screening from 60 currently to 50. This is being discussed by NHS England, the Department and Public Health England, and the final timetable will take into account modelling and feedback received from the system (commissioners, providers and cancer alliances). For a safe, sustainable and high-quality service extended to age 50 years, there is a requirement to balance workforce requirements for the current commitments and Health Education England has pledged to fund the training of 400 clinical endoscopists by 2021 to significantly increase endoscopy capacity in England.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department have made of the effect of delays to the introduction of the faecal immunochemical test to the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme on (a) the diagnosis rates of Bowel Cancer at (i) stage one, (ii) stage two, (iii) stage three and (iv) stage four and (b) the mortality rates of bowel cancer in England.

Steve Brine: There has been no assessment of the effect of delays to the introduction of faecal immunochemical test to the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme on the diagnosis rates of Bowel Cancer at stage one, stage two, stage three and stage four, or on the mortality rates of bowel cancer in England. The National Health Service in England already has a world class bowel cancer screening programme for people aged 60-74 years, with survival rates improving year on year. Regular bowel cancer screening has been shown to reduce the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 16%, and around 60% of bowel cancer patients now survive five years or more compared to around 25% 40 years ago. Over 95% of men and women survive for five years or more if their bowel cancer is diagnosed at stage one. The NHS Long Term Plan includes a proposal to modernise the bowel cancer screening programme to detect more cancers earlier and faecal immunochemical testing at 120ug/g will be integrated into the programme from April 2019.

Mental Health Services: Children

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce waiting times for children receiving initial mental health treatment in West Kent.

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of waiting times in mental health services for initial treatment for children at the North-East London Foundation Trust.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has introduced two waiting time standards for children and young people and are on track to meet both of these standards. The first aims for 95% of children (up to 19 years old) with eating disorders to receive treatment within a week for urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases by 2020/21. 81.3% of children and young people’s eating disorder patients started urgent treatment within one week and 80.2% of patients started routine treatment within four weeks in April to June 2018. The second aims for 50% of patients of all ages experiencing a first episode of psychosis to receive treatment within two weeks of referral. Nationally, the National Health Service is exceeding the target, with 76.2% of patients started treatment within two weeks in November 2018.West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group, working with North East London Foundation Trust, continues to embed new service modelling and transform services for children and young people in Kent. The new model provides a Single Point of Access along with clear and seamless pathways to support ranging from Universal ‘Early Help’ through to highly specialist care with better transition between services. During the initial six months the service underwent significant changes designed to address access and treatment waiting times. This included the provision of a Crisis Service with additional capacity, digital therapy access offers and national and local recruitment campaigns to increase capacity and resource.

Pancreatic Cancer

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that pancreatic cancer patients receive treatment within 20 days of diagnosis.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan published in January 2019 sets out the Government’s ambitions to see 55,000 more people surviving cancer for five years in England each year from 2028 and three quarters of all cancers detected at an early stage by 2028. To achieve these targets, we will need to make significant progress on survival across all cancers, including pancreatic cancer. NHS England will shortly be introducing a Faster Diagnostic Standard of 28 days for all cancer patients which, when taken together with the 62-day referral to treatment standard, will mean that all patients should expect to start their treatment within 34 days of diagnosis. This is a maximum, and trusts should continue to treat patients more quickly particularly where there is a strong clinical need.

Radiography: Training

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to tackle reductions in the number of applicants to radiography courses since the end of the NHS bursaries for those courses.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effect of the end of NHS student bursaries for radiography courses on (a) the number of diagnostic tests undertaken  and (b) trends in the level of the workforce recruitment and retention in radiotherapy.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, sets out a vital strategic framework to ensure that over the next 10 years the National Health Service will have the staff it needs. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key NHS interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan. These programmes will consider detailed proposals to grow the workforce, including consideration of additional staff and skills required, build a supportive working culture in the NHS and ensure first rate leadership for NHS staff. Radiotherapy degree courses are three years in length, therefore students affected by the changes to the education funding system from 2017 will not have completed courses funded by loans to enable an assessment of the effect of the removal of bursaries on this profession. The Cancer Workforce Plan Phase 1, included a target of upskilling 300 more radiographers in image interpretation and reporting by 2021. Currently, 88 individuals have started training programmes towards this, 62 will start in January, and a further 150 during 2019/20. Phase 2 of the Cancer Workforce Plan will follow the Workforce Implementation Plan published later in 2019.

Ketamine

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of the risks of ketamine amongst the adult population.

Steve Brine: Public Health England delivers FRANK, the Government’s drug information and advisory website and is available to view at the following link: https://www.talktofrank.com/ The FRANK site offers information about ketamine, covering the risks of use, the law on using it and advice on what to do if you are concerned about your own drug use, or another person’s usage. It also sign-posts users to relevant support services and provides a 24 hour free-to-use confidential help line, text and email message services and online chat.

Social Services: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department has allocated to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council for adult social care in each of the last five years.

Caroline Dinenage: The majority of local authority expenditure on adult social care is funded from non-ringfenced council tax and business rates. Local authorities have discretion in allocating this funding across their responsibilities. The following table shows allocations for dedicated adult social care funding streams for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. £ million (nominal/cash terms)2016-172017-182018-192019-20TotalAdult Social Care support grant 1.20.8 2.0Precept (as published by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the Local Government Finance Settlement)1.54.06.87.119.4Winter Funding 2018/19  1.2 1.2Budget 2018   1.21.2Total Improved Better Care Fund0.06.89.411.828.0Total1.512.118.220.251.9 Total net adult social care expenditure for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council for the last five years is shown in the following table. £ million2013-1448.52014-1546.82015-1647.02016-1751.82017-1850.1Source: Net Current Expenditure, Barnsley Council with Adult Social Services Responsibility, excluding Better Care Fund, from NHS Digital Personal Social Services-Expenditure / Adult Social Care-Finance Report collections (cash prices) Note:All figures rounded to one decimal point

Self-harm: Children

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to lower the risk of self-harm and suicide among unaccompanied and separated children in the UK.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is committed to reducing suicides across society and in vulnerable groups. We published the first Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan last month which sets out an ambitious programme for suicide prevention across national and local government at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-cross-government-planWhere there is evidence of suicide risk in particular vulnerable groups, the Department would be happy to consider this evidence along with the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, which advises the Government on suicide prevention policy.Public Health England has published a Mental Health Guide for healthcare practitioners to highlight risks in migrant populations in the UK at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mental-health-migrant-health-guideThis guide advises health practitioners that migrant populations may experience mental health issues as a result of their experiences.The Government established the Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, which is a partnership between the Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care to prevent deaths in all custodial and detention settings, including immigration removal centres.

Mental Illness: Young People

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in effectively detecting effects of psychological trauma in young people from a refugee background.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department has made no assessment of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in regard to its use for young people from a refugee background.

Cervical Cancer

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy that cervical cancer patients receive treatment within 20 days of diagnosis.

Steve Brine: The NHS Long Term Plan published in January 2019 sets out the Government’s ambitions to see 55,000 more people surviving cancer for five years in England each year from 2028 and three quarters of all cancers detected at an early stage by 2028. To achieve these targets, we will need to make significant progress on survival across all cancers, including cervical cancer. NHS England will shortly be introducing a Faster Diagnostic Standard of 28 days for all cancer patients which, when taken together with the 62-day referral to treatment standard, will mean that all patients should expect to start their treatment within 34 days of diagnosis. This is a maximum, and trusts should continue to treat patients more quickly particularly where there is a strong clinical need.

Hospitals: Food

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to secure the supply of food to hospitals in the event that UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: The supply of food and specialised nutritional products, particularly those provided to patients and those in care, is being addressed as part of the Department’s preparedness planning for the continuity of supply and service delivery post-European Union Exit. The Department has been working in collaboration with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.The majority of food supplied to the health and social care sector in the United Kingdom is sourced from the UK. There are certain products that are routinely sourced from other EU countries, although alternative sources and suitable substitutes exist for these foodstuffs.Specialist nutritional products are an important part of patient care throughout the health and social care sector. In recognition of this we have made this a specific area of focus within our preparedness arrangements. We are working closely with industry and with organisations such as Public Health England and the British Specialist Nutrition Association to identify the arrangements being made by suppliers and to develop contingency measures that will ensure seamless supply.

NHS: Drugs

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has received representations on patient anxieties about access to medicines including for epilepsy and depression; and what plans the Government has for communication on the availability of such medicines.

Steve Brine: Medicines shortages are an ongoing issue that the Department manages constantly. The Department receives a wide range of representations regarding the availability of medicines on a regular basis. The Department’s Medicines Supply Team has well established procedures to deal with medicine shortages and works closely with all stakeholders to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise. Every shortage is different. The decision to communicate, and type of communication, will depend on a number of factors. We work closely with all stakeholders in these situations to provide advice on management options and to consider how best to communicate a supply problem to those affected. Where necessary, we will engage with relevant patient groups regarding specific medicine shortages, including, for example, several epilepsy patient groups.

Trauma: Medical Equipment

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the estimated cost of (a) stockpiling emergency trauma packs  (b) importing those packs in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: National contingency arrangements for accessing emergency trauma packs already exist. Our exit from the European Union does not require any changes to be made to these arrangements.

Radioisotopes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department taking to ensure a secure supply of radioisotopes used for cancer treatment in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Stephen Hammond: In August 2018, the Department wrote to all pharmaceutical companies that supply prescription-only and pharmacy medicines to the United Kingdom that come from, or via, the European Union / Economic European Area asking them to ensure a minimum of six weeks’ additional supply in the UK, over and above existing business-as-usual buffer stocks, by 29 March 2019. We recognise, however, that certain medicines with short shelf lives, including medical radioisotopes, cannot be reasonably stockpiled. Where these medicines are imported from the EU or EEA, we have asked that suppliers ensure in advance plans to air freight these medicines from the EU in the event of a ‘no deal’ exit. While stockpiling medicines and alternative air freight remains a critical part of our ‘no deal’ medicine supply contingency plans, we are also supplementing these with additional actions. We have further secured sufficient roll-on, roll-off freight capacity on alternative routes to enable these vital products to continue to move freely in to the UK. Medicines and other medical products will be prioritised on these routes to ensure that the flow of all these products will continue unimpeded in a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Elton John AIDS Foundation: Finance

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that its £1.5 million contribution to the Elton John AIDS Foundation to support the Evening Standard’s AIDSfree campaign will help achieve the target of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030.

Steve Brine: The Department is working with the Elton John AIDS Foundation to agree how the £1.5 million funding will be used and will confirm plans shortly.

Cancer: Screening

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which of the 10 most prevalent forms of cancer for adults (a) women and (b) men have a national screening programme.

Steve Brine: The UK National Screening Committee advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries on all aspects of population screening, and supports implementation. It is only where the offer to screen provides more good than harm that a screening programme is recommended. NHS England mandates the NHS to provide 11 national population-based screening programmes. There are three adult national cancer screening programmes: breast cancer and cervical cancer screening for women and bowel cancer screening for both men and women. According to research conducted by Cancer Research UK, both bowel and breast cancer are among the 10 most prevalent forms of cancers for adults.

Counselling: Young People

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to increase the accessibility of counselling for young people (a) with mental health problems and (b) that are at risk of taking their own lives.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The NHS Long Term Plan, published on 7 January 2019, announced that that by 2023/24 an extra 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will receive mental health support via National Health Service-funded mental health services and school or college-based Mental Health Support Teams by 2023/24. Under the Long Term Plan, mental health services will continue to receive a growing share of the NHS budget, with funding to grow by at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. For the first time, funding for children and young people’s mental health services will grow faster than both overall NHS funding and total mental health spending. Setting up 24/7 crisis care provision for children, young people and their families is a key priority for the Government in the NHS Long Term Plan. All children and young people experiencing crisis will be able to access crisis care 24 hours a day, seven days a week by 2023/24 via NHS111.The Government published the first Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan last month which sets out an ambitious programme to reduce suicides, including in children and young people. This can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-cross-government-planIn line with the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, on 20 December the Government announced the first wave of 25 trailblazer sites that will test the plans set out in ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision: a green paper’, published in December 2017. These new plans will significantly increase the availability of mental health support to children and young people, including creating new Mental Health Support Teams working in and near schools and colleges to support children and young people with mild to moderate mental health conditions. Mental Health Support Teams will provide brand new services situated in schools and colleges and are intended to offer earlier help and intervention.

National Child Measurement Programme

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 213342, for what reasons his Department has no plans to extend the National Child Measurement Programme to measure children (a) after birth, (b) before school and (c) during adolescence.

Steve Brine: The inclusion of additional data points in the National Child Measurement Programme would provide minimal insight but would substantially increase the delivery costs of the programme for local authorities.

Infant Foods

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019 to Question 213341, for what reasons his Department has no plans to reinstate the UK-wide Infant Feeding Survey.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Infant Feeding Survey can only provide information at national level because of the sample size. It does not have sufficient individual records to provide data at a local level.Since 2015 Public Health England has published experimental statistics on breastfeeding prevalence at six to eight weeks. These derive from record level administrative data collected on all children, which is collated at a local level and is statistically significant. This makes it possible to benchmark the outcomes for local areas against the national average and other areas of the country.These data are available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/breastfeeding-statistics

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 8 of the January 2019 NAO report on the management of health screening, what steps he is taking to increase the proportion of women who receive the results of cervical screening tests within 14 days from 55 per cent to the target rate of 98 per cent.

Steve Brine: Prevention and early diagnosis of cancer are key priorities for this Government, and we are already working closely with NHS England and Public Health England to address the issues this useful report highlights. These include a national mitigation plan whereby a majority of existing HPV pilot sites have converted more of their cervical screening activity to human papilloma virus (HPV) primary screening. This has freed up cytology capacity which has been used for laboratories experiencing backlogs and therefore, samples have been transferred across the country. This has also been replicated amongst non-pilot sites who have converted to HPV primary screening when all other options for reducing their backlog have not proved successful. Most recently, a national resilience plan has been introduced whereby all existing laboratories have been given the opportunity to implement, as soon as possible, HPV primary screening prior to the conclusion of a procurement for new laboratory providers. Existing laboratory providers will continue this provision throughout the whole transitional period up to and following the commencement of the new service. As per the ministerial commitment, full geographical coverage of HPV primary screening within the NHS Cervical Screening Programme will be achieved by the end of December 2019. Furthermore, NHS England announced in November 2018 that Professor Sir Mike Richards will lead a review of the national cancer screening programmes. The review, expected to report by summer 2019 will include recommendations about future commissioning and delivery of cancer screening programmes in England.

Health: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 8 of the January 2019 NAO report on the management of health screening, whether his Department plans to transfer power to Public Health England to enforce recommended changes in the NHS.

Steve Brine: There are no plans to transfer power to Public Health England to enforce recommended changes in the National Health Service.

Genito-urinary Medicine

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the forthcoming NHS workforce strategy will contain specific reference to sexual health clinicians.

Stephen Hammond: It is for local authorities to assess local needs, and to secure services to meet those needs in line with their statutory responsibilities which include provision of open access sexual health services.Health Education England published a scoping project report on the sexual health workforce in September 2018 which provides an overview of the current workforce delivering sexual health, reproductive health and HIV services; trends in population needs; and service changes affecting the workforce which is available at the following link:https://www.hee.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/documents/Sexual%20health%2C%20reproductive%20health%20and%20HIV%20workforce%20scoping%20project%20report%20Final.pdfRecognising that ensuring sufficient supply of well-motivated staff will be central to the delivery of the Long Term Plan. My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned Baroness Dido Harding, working closely with Sir David Behan, to lead a number of programmes to engage with key National Health Service interests to develop a detailed workforce implementation plan.

Suicide: Young People

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what asssessment he has made of the factors affecting adolescent suicide rates in each of the last 10 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on suicide registrations, including in children and young people. The latest suicide registrations data for 2017 was published in September 2018 at the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/suicidesintheunitedkingdom/2017registrations Although relatively rare, the number of suicides amongst children and young people remains a concern. The reasons why people take their life are often complex and may not be down to a single factor. The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health has published two reports into suicide in young people under 25 at the following links: https://www.hqip.org.uk/resource/report-suicide-by-children-and-young-people-in-england/#.XFquKm3FJPZ https://www.hqip.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/8iQSvI.pdf We continue to fund the Multi-Centre Study of Self-harm, which is the most in-depth analysis and monitoring of self-harming trends in England. Self-harm is a key risk factor for suicide.

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Rebecca Pow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more women to attend cervical screening.

Steve Brine: Public Health England is working to raise awareness of this disease and encourage women to attend cervical screening through the national ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ campaigns, which have been run in partnership with Cancer Research UK since 2011. PHE is in the process of developing a new campaign that will promote the uptake of cervical screening. The campaign is scheduled to launch early in March. NHS England is also investing in initiatives to help ensure equality of access to screening and is investing more than £258 million this year to improve access to general practice and more than half the country is benefitting from improved access to all routine appointments (including cervical screening), at evening and/or weekends.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of 10 January 2019, Official Report, column 575, whether (a) he and (b) Cabinet colleagues have held meetings with representatives of parties or campaign organisations in other member states that advocate the withdrawal of their countries from the European Union.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The UK Government is committed to leaving the European Union with a deal. Government Ministers engage with European Union member states on a regular basis to discuss the Withdrawal Agreement and the UK’s future relationship with the European Union.

Trade Agreements

Mr Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many trade-related agreements, that are not full Free Trade Agreements, would require rolling-over to ensure that the UK continues to trade with non-EU countries on substantially the same terms after (a) 29 March 2019 and (b) any implementation period.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government is seeking to deliver continuity of existing international agreements as we leave the EU.The EU has agreed to notify third countries that, during the implementation period, the UK is treated as an EU member state for the purposes of international agreements. This includes all EU international agreements, including free trade, and trade-related agreements. This provides a basis for continuity across all such agreements during this period.In parallel, we’ve been engaging with third countries to identify which agreements are relevant, important and need action. Where this is the case, we are working with them to put in place successor agreements that replicate the effects of existing agreements as far as possible and which will come into force following the implementation period or on exit in the event of a ‘no deal’ scenario. The Secretary of State recently deposited information in the House Library on those international agreements which have already been signed and those which we expect to sign shortly. A number of these agreements include trade-related elements; for example the Trade in Wine Agreement with Australia, and Mutual Recognition Agreements with Australia and New Zealand. There are other agreements where the UK is seeking to ensure readiness by the end of March 2019. The precise number will depend on ongoing discussions with third countries, and we will provide a further update on these other agreements after technical discussions have concluded.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the current total headcount is of his Department's workforce.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The number of staff employed by the Department for Exiting the European Union is published, each month, on gov.uk as part of our transparency reporting. It can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-exiting-the-european-union-monthly-workforce-management-information-for-2017-and-2018

Department for Exiting the European Union: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, how many (a) current and (b) former civil servants have been seconded to work at his Department since its creation.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Department continues to recruit talent from across the civil service, the wider public sector and the private sector. In answer to (a) over 500 civil servants are currently on loan to DExEU from other government departments, and (b) fewer than 5 former civil servants have been seconded to work in DExEU.

Performing Arts: EU Countries

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what plans he has in place for UK (a) musicians, (b) dancers, (c) comedians and (d) other creative workers to (i) tour and (ii) undertake (A) performances, (B) shoots and (C) other short-term projects in EU countries in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March 2019; whether (1) those people and activities will be covered by the proposals on visa-free travel to EU countries after exit day, (2) UK passport holders will be considered third party nationals by countries within the Schengen area and need to apply for visas and work permits under that country’s immigration system for non-EEA citizens or (3) another system will apply; and if his Department will provide guidance for UK citizens on working in the EU at https://www.gov.uk/prepare-eu-exit.

Mr Robin Walker: Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority.In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the EU have said that UK nationals will be considered third country nationals by countries in the Schengen area after 29 March 2019.The EU has confirmed that UK nationals would not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This will be reciprocated by the UK for EU citizens. The commitment to visa-free travel only applies to tourists and short-term business travellers. Extra conditions may be required for travel for the purposes of work and for certain business activities. Musicians, comedians and other UK creative workers will need to check individual EU member state immigration rules for more information regarding visits for work.The FCO provides travel advice to UK nationals travelling abroad on gov.uk, and this will include information on travelling to countries in the Schengen area in the event of a no deal. We have published advice on the steps that UK nationals may need to take to prepare for our exit from the EU, which can be found at gov.uk/euexit. The Government will publish any necessary updates on gov.uk in due course.

Arts: Travel

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps he is taking to ensure the continued mobility of (a) musicians, (b) comedians and (c) other UK creative workers to (i) tour and (ii) undertake (A) performances, (B) shoots and (C) other short-term projects in EU countries in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Mr Robin Walker: Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. In the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the EU has confirmed that UK nationals would not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This will be reciprocated by the UK for EU citizens.However, traveling for the purposes of work and for certain business activities may require extra conditions. Musicians, comedians and other UK creative workers will need to check individual EU member state immigration rules for more information regarding visits for work. We have published advice on the steps that UK nationals may need to take to prepare for our exit from the EU, which can be found at gov.uk/euexit. The Government will publish any necessary updates on gov.uk in due course.

Department for Education

Schools

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when he plans to respond with a date for the request from the hon. Member for Shipley for a meeting with Lord Agnew of Oulton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the School System has offered a meeting with Vicky Beer CBE, the Regional Schools Commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, in the first instance, which he will follow up with a phone call. Officials have contacted my hon. Friend, the Member for Shipley, to ensure this is acceptable before agreeing a convenient date and time for the meeting and are currently waiting for a response.

Free Schools

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the number of free school projects that were cancelled after receiving government funding and (b) the total cost to the public purse of cancelled free school projects in each year since the introduction of free schools.

Nadhim Zahawi: Holding answer received on 05 February 2019



The primary objective of the department in all cases is to ensure the best possible educational outcomes for pupils and to secure value for money for the taxpayer. Where we have had concerns over the long-term success and viability of a proposed free school that has not yet opened, we take swift and decisive action to cancel the project. As a result, since the start of the programme, we have cancelled 30 free school proposals. The department publishes revenue and capital costs associated with cancelled free school projects on a regular basis through its annual accounts and on GOV.UK. Of the cancelled projects with costs published to date, the total cost to the public purse has been £6,762,381. This total does not include free school projects that were withdrawn by the proposer during the pre-opening period.

Children: Protection

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department will take steps to support local leaders in identifying children in (a) unsafe households and (b) deprived households.

Nadhim Zahawi: Statutory guidance in ‘Working together to safeguard children’ (2018) is clear that anyone who has concerns about a child’s welfare should make a referral to local authority children’s social care, and that they should do so immediately if there is a concern that the child is suffering significant harm or is likely to do so.Our communications campaign, ‘Together, we can tackle child abuse’, has helped raise the awareness of abuse among the public and professionals, and has provided local authorities with resources they can use to raise awareness locally. Disadvantaged children and young people who are in receipt of, or whose parents are in receipt of, one or more of the eligible benefits are entitled to free school meals and, to ensure that as many of these children as possible are able to claim this benefit, we provide an eligibility checking system that all local authorities can access; this makes the checking process as quick and straightforward as possible.

Special Educational Needs: Expenditure

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support local authorities who have overspent on SEND budgets.

Nadhim Zahawi: We recognise that the high needs budget faces significant pressures. As you will be aware, we have announced that we will provide £250 million additional funding for high needs over this financial year and the next. This brings the total allocated for high needs to £6.1 billion in 2018-19 and £6.3 billion in 2019-20. This additional investment will help local authorities manage those cost pressures.Alongside the announcement of this additional funding, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State set out other ways in which we are helping local authorities, schools and colleges support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-secretary-of-state-to-local-authorities. We are also working alongside local authorities to help them plan how best to use their high needs funding. As part of this, we have introduced a high needs benchmarking tool, where local authorities can compare their high needs spending. This can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-strategic-planning-fund.

Special Educational Needs: Expenditure

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the total overspend of SEND budgets by local authorities in the financial year 2017-18.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education collects information on local authority spending through the section 251 returns, which for 2017 to 2018 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/section-251-2017-to-2018.The department does not specifically collect information on where local authorities have overspent their high needs budgets. In 2018 to 2019, local authorities are obliged to pass at least 99.5% of their schools’ block funding, within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), on to local schools; and since 2017 to 2018, have been obliged to pass at least 93% (95% in 2018 to 2019) of funding for 3 and 4 year olds to early years providers. Otherwise, local authorities are free to allocate their DSG, and in any one year may build up or draw down DSG reserves.

Social Services: Children

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the NAO report entitled Pressures on children’s social care, published on 23 January 2019, what level of local variation his Department regards as acceptable in the amount of money spent per child in residential care.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the NAO report entitled Pressures on children’s social care, published on 23 January 2019, whether his Department has identified what level of local variation it regards as acceptable in the thresholds for action within children’s social care.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference page 36 of the NAO report entitled Pressures on children's social care, published on 23 January 2019, what progress his Department has made on the effect of deprivation on (a) demand for and (b) activity within children's social care.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department publishes information on the average weekly spend per residential care place for a child, by local authority, in the local authority interactive tool (LAIT). This can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-interactive-tool-lait. This shows a number of unit cost calculations relating to the children in need population, including total outturn spend on residential care divided by total number of residential care days provided per week by local authority. There are a range of factors that will lead to variation in the amount of money spent per child, including the needs and circumstances of the children supported and accommodated. These factors will influence the services provided to children and the cost of their accommodation. The ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ guidance (2018) can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.This guidance is clear that local safeguarding partners should publish a threshold document, which sets out the local criteria for action in a way that is transparent, accessible and easily understood. This should include criteria, including the level of need, for statutory social care services. There are a range of factors that will lead to variation, including the needs and circumstances of children and families in a local authority area. Whether thresholds are set appropriately and well understood, is inspected by Ofsted and factored into their independent judgements on the quality of services locally. Demand for children’s services is associated with a number of factors including deprivation. The most deprived local authorities have more looked after children (per 10,000 0-17 year olds), and these rates have grown faster, than the least deprived local authorities. In preparation for the Spending Review, to help ensure decisions are based on the best available evidence, the government is working with the sector to develop a sharper and more granular picture of demand for children’s services. We are also working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government as part of the government’s review of relative needs and resources, where new, up-to-date formulas are being developed to ensure funding distribution to councils is based on the best available evidence. We welcome the contributions from the sector in this area including 'Newton Europe’s Making Sense' (2018) report and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services continuing research reports, 'Safeguarding Pressures' (2018).

Pupil Exclusions

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for School Standards of 28 January 2019, Official Report, column 622, how many temporarily excluded pupils were not in full-time education by the sixth school day of their exclusion in 2017-18.

Nick Gibb: Information regarding the number of excluded pupils not in full-time education by the sixth day of their exclusion is not held centrally. It is the duty of the governing bodies and proprietors of maintained schools and academies to arrange for the provision of suitable full-time education from the sixth day of fixed period exclusion. Local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable full-time education for permanently excluded pupils, which must begin no later than the sixth day of the exclusion.

Sure Start Programme: Finance

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, under what circumstances his Department will request the return of funding allocated to local authorities that dispose of or change the use of buildings or assets funded wholly or partly through Sure Start capital grants.

Nadhim Zahawi: Where local authorities dispose of or change the use of buildings or other assets funded wholly or partly through Sure Start capital grants, they must repay the money through the claw-back process. The Department for Education has a thorough set of monitoring arrangements in place regarding clawback rules. Further information on the clawback process is set out in the ‘Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Capital Guidance’ at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/273740/capital_guidance.pdf.I refer the hon. Member for Norwich South to the answer given by my hon. Friend, former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Childcare and Education, Sam Gyimah, on 29 February 2016 to Question 28207.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has plans to second a portion of its workforce to the Department for Exiting the European Union over the next six weeks.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of staff from his Department that will be seconded to the Department for Exiting the European Union to prepare for UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Anne Milton: The Civil Service is focused on delivering the government’s most pressing priorities, so it is only sensible that we make use of the resources and expertise we have available to make sure that the UK is prepared for all Brexit scenarios on exit day. This includes departments sharing staff and working together on joint projects.As part of the co-ordinated exercise, the department will second staff mostly to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and HM Revenue and Customs. The actual numbers are yet to be determined.

Adoption and Free Schools

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many civil servants in his Department work on the (a) free school and (b) adoption policy streams; and how many civil servants worked on those streams in June 2016.

Anne Milton: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Frontline

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportions of students (a) withdrew from study in the Frontline programme and (b) were asked to leave the Frontline programme in each of the last five years.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the fine of up to £10,000 for students leaving the Frontline programme before the end of the 2 years was introduced; how much money has been recouped under that clause to date; and whether that money has been returned to his Department.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many academic staff Frontline have, and what the qualifications of those staff are.

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of academic staff in the Frontline programme have left the programme in each of the last five years.

Nadhim Zahawi: Of those who started the Frontline programme, the following withdrew in their qualifying year: Cohort 2014 (104 started) 4 withdrew.Cohort 2015 (124 started) 7 withdrew.Cohort 2016 (155 started) 14 withdrew.Cohort 2017 (283 started) 21 withdrew.Cohort 2018 (336 started) 10 withdrew. The process to recoup costs was introduced for the 2017/18 academic year, as a means of clawing back public funding where a Frontline participant doesn’t meet their commitment to the programme. To date no money has been repaid by participants, however, if costs are recovered then future claims for funding from the Department for Education will be reduced by the corresponding amount. The department contracts Frontline to deliver fast track social work education, and monitors the delivery of this contract, including through oversight of key performance indicators and other information. The department does not monitor operational data such as Frontline staff numbers, their qualifications and turnover.

Secondary Education: Teachers

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase teacher recruitment in secondary schools.

Nick Gibb: The Department has developed the Teaching Vacancies Service, a national search and listing service for teaching roles. This makes it easier for schools to advertise posts free of charge to tackle the up to £75 million per year spent on advertising for full time posts. The service will be available to all state schools in England by March 2019. It can be found at https://teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/. The Department has put in place a range of measures, including generous bursaries, worth up to £26,000 for priority subjects, to encourage trainees to key subjects such as languages and physics. We are also testing new financial incentives for priority subject teachers. These include early-career payments for new maths teachers and a student loan reimbursement scheme for languages and science teachers. On 28 January 2019 the Department launched the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy which outlines 4 key areas for reform and investment: create the right climate for leaders to establish supportive school cultures, transform support for early career teachers, build a career offer that remains attractive to teachers as their careers and lives develop, and make it easier for great people to become teachers.Designed collaboratively with the sector, the centrepiece of the strategy is the Early Career Framework, which will underpin a fully-funded, two-year package of structured support for all early career teachers linked to the best available research evidence. The strategy can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-recruitment-and-retention-strategy.

Special Educational Needs: Visual Impairment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that every young person with vision impairment has access to the same learning materials as their sighted peers, adapted to their reading needs.

Nadhim Zahawi: All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people. They must make reasonable adjustments, including the provision of auxiliary aids and services for disabled children, to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. This would include ensuring that pupils with visual impairment have access to appropriate reading materials. Schools must publish accessibility plans and local authorities must publish accessibility strategies setting out how they plan to increase access for disabled pupils to the curriculum, the physical environment and to information. Schools also have wider duties to prevent discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations. The Department for Education is providing £3.4 million funding over 2018-2020, for the Special Educational Needs and Disabilitiies (SEND) schools’ workforce contract, which will be delivered by the Whole School SEND consortium, led by nasen. The SEND schools’ workforce contract aim is to embed SEND into school led approaches to school improvement in order to equip the workforce to deliver high quality teaching across all types of SEND, including children and young people with vision impairment.

Special Educational Needs: Visual Impairment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to ensure that young people with a visual impairment receive appropriately adapted national tests and exam papers, including past papers.

Nick Gibb: The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) develops modified versions of national curriculum tests in enlarged print (key stage 2 only), modified large print and braille (key stages 1 and 2). They are primarily designed for pupils with visual impairments, although they may be suitable for pupils with other needs. Schools can request permission from STA to open key stage 2 tests up to 5 days early if they need to make further adaptations to the test materials to meet a pupil’s specific needs. Past versions of the modified tests are available so that schools can help pupils prepare and to ensure the materials meet their needs.Ofqual is the regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. As well as requiring regulated awarding organisations to comply with Equalities Law, Ofqual’s General Conditions of Recognition require awarding organisations to monitor their qualifications for any feature which could disadvantage a group of students who share a particular protected characteristic, including those who have a disability due to visual impairment. Under the Equality Act 2010, awarding organisations are required to make reasonable adjustments to assessments for disabled students. Awarding organisations can – and do – make a wide range of adjustments to their assessments, including modifying exam papers (e.g. producing large-print or braille versions).

Mental Health: Children in Care

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the pilots of new mental health assessments for looked-after children, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that those new models will be able to assess the mental health needs of unaccompanied young people.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire in properly recognising trauma-related mental health conditions in looked-after children.

Nadhim Zahawi: We have appointed a consortium of partners, led by the Anna Freud Centre, to support delivery of the pilots. The consortium brings together significant expertise on the mental health of looked-after children, including Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC), and will work closely with selected sites to use their own learning and expertise to inform the project. The assessment framework will be tailored to the specific groups of looked-after children that each pilot site chooses to focus on which, for some sites, will be UASC. The pilots will also draw on the recommendations made by the Expert Working Group, which was commissioned by Department for Education and Department for Health and Social Care. The Expert Working Group found that the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) should be supported by a broader set of measures. The pilots will therefore use the SDQ alongside other assessment tools. We will be conducting a full evaluation of the pilots. This will include evidence of effectiveness for specific groups of looked-after children as well as the cohort as a whole.

Human Trafficking: Children

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure that social workers are adequately trained to respond to cases of trafficked children that subsequently go missing and (b) improve the recording and reporting practices by local authorities on trafficked children.

Nadhim Zahawi: On 1 November 2017, the government published revised and expanded statutory guidance for local authorities on the care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery, which sets out the training and awareness requirements for all those involved in the care of these vulnerable children. This guidance is available to social workers along with the statutory guidance on children who go missing from care, and practice guidance on children who may have been trafficked. Local authorities are best placed to then ensure that social workers receive the training they need to meet the needs of children locally.The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced a duty to local authorities to refer all child victims of trafficking or modern slavery into the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), the UK’s system for identify and supporting victims. A referral into this system enables accurate recording and reporting by the Home Office on a quarterly basis. As part of NRM reform the government is conducting a review of how first responders should be trained. This will include understanding how to support all first responders in making these referrals which will support improved recording and reporting.

Department of Education: Buildings

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost of extending his Department's lease on Sanctuary Buildings was.

Anne Milton: The gross rent (excluding income from tenants) for Sanctuary Buildings is £12.125 million per annum over a 15-year period (excluding VAT), subject to rent reviews every five years. The department secured savings and incentives from the landlord totalling £66 million.We continue to keep the estate under review, including options for consolidating operations and driving up income from tenants.

Old Admiralty Building: Repairs and Maintenance

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the cost to date has been of refurbishing the Old Admiralty buildings, and from what Departmental budget that expenditure has been incurred.

Anne Milton: I refer the hon. Member for Barnsley East, Stephanie Peacock, to the answer I gave on 10 December 2018 to 198851.

English Baccalaureate

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of his Department's progress towards the target of 75% of pupils studying the EBacc combination of GCSEs by 2022.

Nick Gibb: The Government responded to the consultation on implementing the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) in July 2017. Schools will have been able to take account of this in GCSE entries from 2020 onwards. The proportion of pupils taking the EBacc subject combination has increased from 22% in 2010 to 38% in 2018. The Department has seen significant increases in pupils taking EBacc science, from 63% to 96%, since 2010. The Department has also seen the proportion of pupils taking history or geography increase from 48% to 78%. Whilst the proportion of pupils taking GCSE languages has increased since 2010, the Department would like to see more pupils taking the subject and have launched initiatives to support this, such as the Modern Foreign Languages hub pedagogy programme.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Secondment

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2019 to Question 213460 on Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Secondment, when the number of staff who are being seconded to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to work on programmes related to the UK leaving the EU will be determined.

Anne Milton: In line with my previous response, the Civil Service is focused on delivering the government’s most pressing priorities, so it is only sensible that we make use of the resources and expertise we have available to make sure the UK is prepared for all Brexit scenarios. This includes departments sharing staff and working together on joint projects.As part of the co-ordinated exercise, the department are working to second staff mostly to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. The exact number is yet to be determined.

Universities: Insolvency

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of universities at risk of insolvency.

Chris Skidmore: I refer the hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne to the answer the former Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation gave on 12 November 2018, to question 188033.

Pupil Exclusions

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to ensure that schools remain responsible for pupils who leave their school roll until they have found a new permanent place.

Nick Gibb: Pupils leave school rolls for many reasons, including permanent exclusion or changes of circumstances (as when a pupil moves to a new area). All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register.It is the responsibility of the local authority (with the exception of fixed period exclusions) to put in place alternative provision for pupils who for any reason would not otherwise receive a suitable education.All local authorities are also required to operate a Fair Access Protocol to ensure that outside the normal admissions round unplaced children are offered a school place as soon as possible.Edward Timpson is leading a review of exclusions, which will consider how schools use exclusion and in particular why some groups of children are more likely to be excluded from school. The review is due to report in due course.

Teachers: Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2019 to Question 213380 on Teachers: Academies, what estimate he has made of the number of academy trusts that provide induction for new teachers.

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what requirements his Department places on academy schools in relation to providing statutory induction for new teachers.

Nick Gibb: Completing induction is an important career milestone for teachers with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Without having passed induction, teachers will not be able to work in relevant schools (the School Workforce Census of November 2017 shows that 94.2% of teachers in academies hold QTS), and the Department knows the induction process is valued by schools and can play a positive role in improving teacher quality.All schools, including academies, that provide statutory induction must comply with relevant regulations and statutory guidance. From 2021, subject to regulatory changes, this will include an enhanced support offer for early career teachers, underpinned by the Early Career Framework.Although not legally required, the majority of non-maintained schools, including academies, do provide statutory induction. Most recent available data shows that 29,765 Newly Qualified Teachers from across all sectors passed induction in 2017/18.Ensuring the highest quality of teaching is paramount to the success of each school. The Department trusts headteachers to take decisions that work for their school and their pupils. They will continue to be held to account for the quality of teaching in their schools through the Ofsted inspection regime and the publication of school performance data. We are not looking to make changes to the current academy freedoms.It is important to note that the funding for the Early Career Framework will be available to all schools, including academies, supporting an early career teacher who is undergoing statutory induction. It is anticipated that academies will continue to offer induction and there has been strong support from the school sector, including academies, for these reforms.

Vocational Guidance

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what liaison there is for promoting best practice guidelines between the National Careers Service and its counterpart organisations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Anne Milton: Responsibility for delivery of careers information, advice and guidance was devolved to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as part of devolution.The National Careers Service shares information and best practice as appropriate with the devolved administrations, including on the development of the National Careers Service website to make sure that it meets the needs of young people and adults.

Ministry of Justice

Magistrates' Courts: Closures

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of magistrates’ court closures on access to justice.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 04 February 2019



The decision to close a court is never taken lightly. In the case of each magistrates’ court closure, we undertook a public consultation exercise and considered the responses we received very carefully. The Lord Chancellor only agreed to close the court when satisfied that effective access to justice would be maintained when the court closed.

Legal Profession

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of leaving the EU on the UK’s legal sectors.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 04 February 2019



Leaving the single market will have implications for market access and some UK and EU service suppliers will not enjoy the same rights as they do today. The Political Declaration outlines the EU and the UK’s commitment to, among other things, ambitious arrangements for services and investment that go well beyond WTO commitments, and build on recent EU FTAs. Delivering the deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. Alongside this the Government is also accelerating no deal preparations to ensure the country is prepared for every eventuality. The technical notice providing services including those of a qualified professional if there's no Brexit deal, published by the Government on 12 October 2018 sets out the implications of a no deal exit for EEA legal professionals and business owners in the UK. An impact assessment was published alongside the SI implementing these changes. As outlined in the EU Commission technical notice published on 21 June 2018, in a no deal scenario the rights of practice, ownership and establishment of UK nationals and businesses in the EU will be governed by the national policies and rules of individual member states.

Small Claims: Industrial Accidents

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of non-road traffic workplace accident claims that will be affected by the increase to the small claims limit.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Small Claims: Industrial Accidents

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of non-road traffic accident cases for workplace claims that will move from the fast track to small claims track due to the proposed increases to the small claims limit.

Lucy Frazer: The Ministry of Justice has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Prisons: Food

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to secure the supply of food to prisons in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Rory Stewart: In common with all Government Departments, the Ministry of Justice has considered what impacts there might be on its institutions of leaving the EU without a deal, including on prisons. Preparations are underway to ensure we are ready for this scenario. This includes ensuring that our food and retail contracts have alternative arrangements in case of disruption through ports. Delivering a revised deal negotiated with the EU remains the Government’s top priority. This has not changed. The Government is accelerating no deal preparations to ensure the country is prepared for every eventuality. It is the responsible thing to do. As part of cross-Whitehall preparations for a no deal scenario, all Government Departments are considering what resources are required to mitigate any potential impacts and to ensure that businesses and citizens are sufficiently prepared for all eventualities of Brexit.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many redundancies there have been from his Department's trade promotion offices since April 2018.

Graham Stuart: There have been no UK civil servants from DIT or UKEF who have been made redundant since April 2018, as per the provisions of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, a statutory scheme made under the Superannuation Act 1972. This does not include locally engaged staff employed by the FCO overseas who work on DIT's objectives.

Import Duties: Developing Countries

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard the preferential access afforded to developing countries in sensitive sectors in the event that the UK is required to apply tariffs on leaving the EU without a deal.

George Hollingbery: As the UK leaves the EU the Government is seeking continuity of trade arrangements, which will continue to provide valuable access to the UK market for developing countries. The Government is creating a unilateral trade preference scheme which will provide the same level of market access as currently provided through the EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences, through powers in the Taxation (Cross-border trade) Act. It also remains the Government’s intention to seek to replicate the effects of seven development-focussed EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. On 31 January 2019, Minister Hollingbery signed the UK-Eastern and Southern Africa EPA. This continuity agreement will allow continued tariff-free imports from Eastern and Southern Africa, providing continuity for businesses, exporters and consumers.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Right to Buy Scheme

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he is meeting the Government's commitment to replace homes sold through the council right to buy scheme.

James Brokenshire: The latest figures for the replacement of council homes sold under the Right to Buy can be found in the statistical release Right to Buy Sales in England: July to September 2018 , and show a shortfall of 2,501 replacements against additional sales. This is despite an increase in council housebuilding, and an overall net increase in social housing of 79,000 units since 2010.   We have taken steps to help councils build more homes, by removing the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap; providing long-term rent stability for social landlords; committing to repeal the legislation in the Housing and Planning Act which, if implemented, would have led to local authorities’ selling off vacant, high value council homes; and, most recently, consulting local authorities on options to afford them greater flexibility in how they can use their Right to Buy receipts to help them build faster.

Local Government Finance

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department made of the needs of urban areas when allocating £1 billion of additional funding in the provisional local government finance settlement.

Rishi Sunak: The final local government finance settlement confirmed a real-terms increase in available funding for local authorities to help deliver local services, support vulnerable residents and build vibrant communities.This includes an additional £650 million for social care, allocated using the well-established Adult Social Care relative needs formula, which takes into account the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.The additional resources provided through the settlement also included the distribution of £180 million of surplus in the business rates retention levy account, which was allocated on the basis of each authority’s 2013-14 Settlement Funding Assessment. The Settlement Funding Assessment is a measure of the relative needs of local authorities, including in urban areas.Funding baselines for every authority are determined by an assessment of the relative needs of areas, including measures of deprivation.

Valuation Office

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that Valuation officers (a) compile and (b) maintain rating Lists for each billing authority area.

Rishi Sunak: The Valuation Office Agency has a statutory duty to compile and maintain the rating lists. The Valuation Office Agency is an executive agency, sponsored by HMRC.

Sleeping Rough: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department's Rough sleeping statistics autumn 2018, England, published on 31 January 2019, whether the statistics for the total number of people rough sleeping in Brighton and Hove in autumn (a) 2017 and (b) 2018  were collected using the same methodology; what steps he took to check that the data supplied by local authorities for the purposes of comparison between those two years used comparable statistics; whether he is aware of the letter dated 8 January 2019 from Conservative Councillors in Brighton and Hove to the Chair of the Brighton and Hove City Council Audit and Standards Committee on Misrepresentation of rough sleeping statistics; and if he will make a statement.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: A consistent methodology for collecting data on the number of people sleeping rough on a typical night has been in place across local authorities since 2010. Local authorities themselves decide whether to undertake a count or estimate to determine their snapshot figure. They should use the method that will most accurately reflect the number of people sleeping rough in their area. All counts and estimates are checked on the night by an independent verifier from Homeless Link, funded by the Government, to certify reliability.Whilst Brighton and Hove conducted an estimate in 2017 and undertook a count in 2018, an estimate or count should return same figure. The latter is a visible count of those seen, and the former an evidence based assessment of those thought to be sleeping rough on a single given night. There are a number of reasons for changing methodology, including improvements in knowledge and capacity of outreach services, changes in the number of people thought to be sleeping rough or belief that the change will result in a more accurate return. Brighton has changed methodology before. In the last 9 years it has counted 6 times and estimated 3 times.There are a range of factors which impact the number of people seen or thought to be seen sleeping rough on single night, including the weather on the night of the count or estimate. It can also be affected by where people choose to sleep, the date and time chosen by the local authority, and the availability of alternatives such as night shelters. We know the weather was unseasonably cold this year and that Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP) was enforced. Undoubtably this may have meant people found alternatives to sleeping rough or bedded down deeper. However, those in SWEP are importantly still included in the resultant figure and it is unfortunately unrealistic to expect complete weather consistency year on year.MHCLG officials are aware of the letter mentioned and that Brighton are undertaking their own formal process to address this. Attaining as comprehensive a rough sleeping figure as possible each year is crucial intelligence - not only to the Government but all those with an interest in addressing the problem of homelessness. This is why a large number of local partners are consulted as part of the count and estimate process and 244 (75 per cent) of local authorities, including Brighton and Hove, reported consultation of 5 or more different agencies. The Government also funds Homeless Link to independently verify all counts and estimates that are undertaken to further ensure they are both reliable and robust. This includes following the guidance on counting not only those sleeping rough on the street, but also those in a myriad of situations including in tents, encampments, buildings, and other places not designed for habitation.Of course it is unrealistic to assume a count or estimate can ever be 100 per cent accurate and MHCLG is encouraging local authorities with larger numbers to improve their year-round data. However, a great deal of committed work has been undertaken in Brighton and Hove, including that backed by almost £500,000 in Rough Sleeping Initiative funding for 2018/19 and £35,000 in Cold Weather funding. As such, they’ve deservedly made an inspiring impact and this is reflected in their annual return and our own intelligence. We hope this driven work will continue in the next year with the schemes including the 2019/20 round of RSI funding (provisionally allocated at £711,524) and the Rapid Rehousing Pathway (providing £555,025 in 2018/19 and over £1.36 million provisionally allocated for 2019/20) for interventions including navigators, supported lettings and two Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs – one of which is a women-only shelter.This Government is committed to reducing homelessness and rough sleeping. No one should ever have to sleep rough. That is why last summer we published the cross-government Rough Sleeping Strategy which sets out an ambitious £100 million package to help people who sleep rough now, but also puts in place the structures that will end rough sleeping once and for all. The Government has now committed over £1.2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the spending review period.

Housing: Construction

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure proposed new permitted development rights do not adversely affect the quality of housing with respect to (a) size and (b) safety regulations.

Kit Malthouse: Our recent consultation, “Planning Reform: Supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes” sought views on new permitted development rights to help deliver more homes.All homes, whether granted permission through a national permitted development right or on a planning application are required to meet Building Regulations, including fire safety.We are currently considering the responses received to the consultation. Decisions will be taken in due course on the consultation proposals to be taken forward.

Landlords: South Yorkshire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to his Department’s announcement on 14 January 2019, of the £2.4 million to be given to councils to tackle rogue landlords, how much and what proportion will be allocated to (a) councils in the Sheffield City Region and (b) Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We received three bids from the Sheffield City Region. A joint bid from Bolsover and North East Derbyshire local authorities was the only bid which met the assessment criteria that were set out. It was awarded full funding of £12,450, representing 0.5 per cent of the overall fund. Bids from Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council did not meet the assessment criteria and were not awarded funds.

Affordable Housing: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press statement entitled, Brokenshire unveils £500 million affordable homes funding boost, published in January 2019, how many of the 11,000 homes will be built in (a) the North West (b) the Liverpool City Region and (c) Wallasey constituency.

Kit Malthouse: On 31 January, we announced a further eight Strategic Partnerships between Homes England and housing associations which will deliver an additional 11,676 affordable homes for £496.7 million of grant.This takes our total to 23 Strategic Partnerships, which will deliver almost 40,000 additional affordable housing starts by March 2022.In total, just over 6,000 affordable homes will be delivered across the North West through Strategic Partnerships. Given the flexibility on delivery we provide Strategic Partners, we are not able to break these down below regional areas.All funding for Strategic Partnerships is from our £9 billion Affordable Homes Programme.

Local Government Finance: Merseyside

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press announcement entitled, Councils in England to receive over £50 million to support Brexit preparations, published in January 2019, how much of the £56.5 million that will be given to councils will be allocated to (a) councils in the LiverpoolCity Region and (b) Wirral Council.

Rishi Sunak: From the £56.5 million announced on 28 January, funding to help councils prepare for Brexit, councils in the Liverpool City Region will receive £1,442,000.This will include £210,000 for each of the following; Halton Borough Council, the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Liverpool City Council, the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, and the Metropolitan Borough Council of Wirral.

Non-domestic Rates: Schools

Sir Vince Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether (a) independent schools and (b) free schools are eligible for business rate relief, and whether his Department has plans to review that status.

Rishi Sunak: Schools may benefit from charitable rate relief from business rates if the billing authority considers that they satisfy the requirements and are used wholly or mainly for charitable purposes. The Government has no plans to review eligibility.

Sleeping Rough: Death

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that deaths of rough sleepers are recorded.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: In England and Wales deaths are recorded by the Registrar of Births and Deaths, who will issue a death certificate. Registrars receive information about the cause of death from either a Qualified Attending Practitioner (who is usually the last attending GP or hospital doctor) or a Coroner, depending upon the type of death. The purpose of the death certificate is to record the cause of death. The death certificate will also record the person’s ‘usual’ address.The Secretary of State committed in an Urgent Question on 20 December (Official report, Column 995) to raising with the Ministry of Justice what more could be done to accurately record the housing status of a deceased person on death certificates. Officials are currently taking this work forward.

Homelessness: Newcastle-under-Lyme

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of the number of homeless people in Newcastle-under-Lyme between 2015 and 2019.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government collates data on statutory homelessness from local authorities and publishes them. The figures for the number of households in Newcastle-upon-Lyme that have had a main homelessness duty accepted are shown in the table below. The figures are taken from the published tables that can be viewed via the link below. Financial  yearHouseholds in Newcastle-upon-Lyme that have had a main homelessness duty accepted2014/15102015/1692016/17152017/18192018/19 Q1 April - June5 For 2014/15 to 2017/18 data see "Table 784: local authorities' action under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Acts, financial years 2004-05 to 2017/18 (revised)".For 2018/19 Q1 data, which is the most recent published, see "Main duty tables".https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-homelessness.

Parking: Wellingborough

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department will respond to the petition presented on 12 September 2018 on Jackson Lane Car Park.

Rishi Sunak: Due to an administrative technical fault, the petition was not received by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government until late January.A response to the petition has been published today, 7 February.

Empty Property

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he has set a target in this Parliamentary Term for the reduction in number of long term empty properties as a result of the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018.

Rishi Sunak: Statistics on vacant dwellings in England and in each local authority district are published in the Ministry’s live table 615 which is available at the following link. This table shows the annual total numbers of empty homes and those vacant longer than six months and also vacants in the local authority, housing association and other public sector tenures.The table can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants.Rates of council tax charged on empty homes are a matter for individual local authorities, who will take into account local circumstances in reaching their decision. In 2018, 299 out of 326 authorities reported that they were charging a premium on some of their empty dwellings, up from 291 in 2017.The number of long-term vacant dwellings across England remains lower than when records began.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Overseas Aid

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much money spent by his Department has been counted as UK aid spending; and what programmes that money has been allocated to within his Department.

Gavin Williamson: Holding answer received on 04 February 2019



The Ministry of Defence has an annual Official Developmental Assistance target of £5 million, of which approximately £6.12 million was spent in the calendar year of 2017 – a breakdown by programme is below. 2018 figures are currently undergoing a regular assurance process and will be published in April 2019. Programme£ million*Defence Education Programmes£3.74Britjish Forces Cyprus: Refugee Camp£0.63UK Hydrographic Office Charting Support£0.86Locally Employed Civilian Training: Afghanistan£0.86Royal Navy: Disaster Relief TrainingLess than £0.05'Askari Serpent': Local Vaccination Programmes£0.10*Figures rounded to 2 decimal places.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the report produced by the Pentagon's Operational Test and Evaluation Office on F-35s, what assessment he has made of the service life of the RAF's fleet of F-35B aircraft.

Stuart Andrew: Under the US-led F-35 programme, the F-35B has completed full scale durability testing to 16,000 hours. Planned modifications and fleet management of the early contract F-35B aircraft will ensure that they meet the 8,000 hour service life requirement. Aircraft being delivered today incorporate these design changes in the build process to ensure they will meet 8,000 hours or more.

Air Force: Cadets

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many hours were flown by the Air Cadets gliding fleet in 2018.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Viking Glider fleet records the number of launches achieved. The Vigilant motorglider fleet was retired in May 2018 and records the number of hours flown.The Viking fleet flew 14,235 launches during 2018. The Vigilant fleet flew 138 hours in 2018 prior to the fleet retirement from service in May.

Air Force: Cadets

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of hours of Tutor Air Experience Flights undertaken by Air Cadets in 2018.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In 2018 the total number of Tutor flying hours undertaken by the Air Experience Flights units within 6 Flying Training School was 9,060 hours.

Air Force: Cadets

Mrs Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made by the RAF in bringing Volunteer Gliding Squadrons back to fully operational condition.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: There are ten Volunteer Gliding Squadrons (VGS) and six Aerospace Ground Schools (AGS).The following six VGS have returned to flight and are training cadets both in the air and with Ground School elements:621VGS ,622VGS, 632VGS, 637VGS, 644VGS, 661VGSIn addition 645VGS had returned to flight, but is currently undertaking Instructor Conversion Training to the Viking glider, having previously undertaken cadet training with the Vigilant motor glider.The remaining three Squadrons, 614VGS, 615VGS and 626VGS are awaiting return to flight. However, along with the six AGS they are continuing to train cadets as they operate ground school elements and Part Task Trainers.

Army: Germany

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many British soldiers have been stationed in Germany in each of the last 10 years; and what the cost to the public purse has been of maintaining those troops in each of those years.

Mark Lancaster: Official statistics for the number of British Army personnel stationed in Germany since 1April 2009 is provided below: Date of data reportingNumber of Army personnel1 April 200918,7701 April 201018,7801 April 201117,9501 April 201216,7401 April 201314,6201 April 201412,7801 April 20159,8701 April 20165,1201 April 20173,6901 April 20183,390 Notes: Figures from 1 Apr 2009 are Official Statistics and are for UK Regular Forces (including both Trained and Untrained personnel), and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service personnel and mobilised reservists. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, numbers ending in “5” have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. Information related to the annual cost of maintaining these personnel in Germany is not held centrally for this period and, where available, could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Future Large Aircraft: Procurement

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many A400M aircraft have been ordered for the Royal Air Force in total; how many of those aircraft have (a) been delivered and (b) yet to be delivered; and what estimate he has made of the (i) procurement cost of all A400Ms ordered and (ii) lifetime cost of one A400M programme.

Stuart Andrew: Twenty two A400M aircraft have been ordered for the Royal Air Force and of these, 20 have been delivered with two remaining. The forecast procurement cost for these aircraft is £2.6 billion, and the whole life support cost for the fleet is currently forecast to be approximately £6.7 billion, up to the A400M's planned out-of-service date.

Army

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) establishment strength and (b) actual strength was of each regular infantry battalion in the British Army on the most recent date for which figures are available.

Mark Lancaster: The information requested will take time to collate and I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Military Aircraft

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the latest Royal Air Force serviceability statistics are for the (a) C-130J Hercules, (b) C-17 Globemaster, (c) A400M Atlas and (d) CH-47 Chinook.

Stuart Andrew: The number of C-130J Hercules, C-17 Globemaster and Atlas A400M aircraft and Chinook helicopters in the Forward and Sustainment Fleets at 1 February 2019 is given in the table below. TypeForward FleetSustainment FleetTotalC-130J Hercules12416C-17 Globemaster718Atlas A400M12820Chinook411960 The Forward Fleet comprises serviceable and short term unserviceable aircraft. Typically, the short term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection that can arise on a day-to-day basis. The sustainment fleet includes aircraft airframes undergoing upgrade or maintenance or being held in storage. The number of aircraft available varies day-to-day, according to normal flight management activities.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the High Court decision in R (Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart) v SSWP CO/1552/2018, what recent estimate she has made of the number of claimants that have received less money as a result of the incorrect interpretations of the Regulations relating to universal credit’s assessment periods.

Alok Sharma: The Department is carefully considering the High Court’s Judgment and it is therefore not appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Personal Independence Payment

Kate Hollern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effect on trends in the level of her Department's expenditure of the transfer of claimants from disability living allowance to personal independence payment.

Sarah Newton: We continually monitor Personal Independence Payment (PIP) expenditure and manage the process of transferring Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claimants to PIP in a safe and controlled manner.

Severe Disability Premium

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to identify claimants who are eligible for a severe disability premium transitional payment and an additional lump-sum payment; and if she will make a statement.

Sarah Newton: We set out our position on Severe Disability Premium (SDP) transitional payments for claimants in a Written Statement HCWS1243 on 11 January 2019 and in the revised sets of regulations which were laid on 14 January 2019. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 contain provision to ensure that eligible claimants who had previously been in receipt of the SDP but who moved onto Universal Credit before 16 January 2019, following a change in their circumstances, will be considered for a SDP transitional amount. The provisions will include on-going monthly payments and an additional lump-sum to cover the period since they moved to Universal Credit. These regulations are subject to parliamentary debate, therefore, we are not able to provide a date of when these will come in to force. Once the regulations are in place we will begin the process of assessing eligible claimants and make payments where appropriate. We aim to have offered all eligible claimants this additional lump-sum within six months of the regulations being approved by Parliament.

Universal Credit: Disability

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions,if she ill set a date by which severely disabled claimants who have moved onto universal credit and lost their severe disability premium will be offered backdated payments as well as top-up payments.

Sarah Newton: We set out our position on Severe Disability Premium (SDP) transitional payments for claimants in a Written Statement HCWS1243 on 11 January 2019 and in the revised sets of regulations which were laid on 14 January 2019. The draft Universal Credit (Managed Migration Pilot and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 contain provision to ensure that eligible claimants who had previously been in receipt of the SDP but who moved onto Universal Credit before 16 January 2019, following a change in their circumstances, will be considered for a SDP transitional amount. The provisions will include on-going monthly payments and an additional lump-sum to cover the period since they moved to Universal Credit. These regulations are subject to parliamentary debate, therefore, we are not able to provide a date of when these will come in to force. Once the regulations are in place we will begin the process of assessing eligible claimants and make payments where appropriate. We aim to have offered all eligible claimants this additional lump-sum within six months of the regulations being approved by Parliament.

Industrial Health and Safety

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential effects on health and safety standards of leaving the EU (a) under the Withdrawal Agreement and (b) without a deal.

Sarah Newton: The government has committed to protect workers’ rights as the United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union (EU). This includes the requirements to ensure health and safety in the workplace. The UK already has one of the best records on health and safety at work among member states of the EU. During the implementation period of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK will no longer be a member state of the EU. However, common rules will remain in place until the end of the period. This will include rules on health and safety at work. In the event of a ‘no deal’ outcome with the EU, the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 will continue to apply, alongside the requirements of the health and safety regulations made under the Act. There will need to be minor technical fixes to a small number of requirements. These are set out in the Health and Safety (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018. The Regulations will ensure that the requirements continue to work if there is no deal with the EU by exit day. In addition, work is going on to ensure that there continues to be an effective regulatory regime for the safe management of chemicals after exit day. This will ensure that requirements established through EU regulations will, with suitable fixes for a UK-only situation, continue to work here in a ‘no deal’ scenario. This action, taken together with the protections provided by the existing health and safety framework, will ensure that standards are maintained in a ‘no deal’ scenario.

Universal Credit

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's support for people on legacy benefits with high support needs who will be required to transfer to universal credit during managed migration.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department is committed to ensuring that all claimants, especially the most vulnerable, are supported as they move from legacy benefits onto Universal Credit. We are working closely with a diverse range of stakeholders so the widest possible range of insights are played into the design of the pilot. Learnings from the pilot will shape the support we provide to claimants.

Universal Credit

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate her Department has made of the total number and proportion of universal credit claimants that are now in employment as a result of the introduction of that benefit.

Alok Sharma: The number of people on Universal Credit as at 13 December 2018 was around 1.6 million. Of these people around 580 thousand (around 37 per cent) were in employment. The detailed figures can be found in Table 3.1 of the latest Universal Credit statistics at:(Table 3.1) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/universal-credit-29-april-2013-to-13-december-2018) Universal Credit is all about getting people into work and, for those already in work, increasing their income through more work. Latest analysis published by DWP shows that Universal Credit is working and people are 4% more likely to have been in work at some point in the 6 months following their claim than under Jobseeker’s Allowance. In June 2018 DWP published plans for further analysis of the labour market impact of Universal Credit, which can be accessed at: . This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-understanding-its-impact-on-the-labour-market

Cold Weather Payments: Kirkcaldy

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using an alternative weather station to the one based in Leuchars for the KY6 – KY8 postcodes in the annual review for cold weather payments.

Justin Tomlinson: The Head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre reviewed the linkage of the postcode areas KY6-KY8 to the weather station at Leuchars in 2018. The review found that, based on the location and climate of the main population centres for KY6-8, Leuchars remains the most suitable Cold Weather Payment station for these postcodes.

Health and Safety Executive

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual budget has been for the Health and Safety Executive in each of the last three years; and how many staff that body has employed in each of the last three years.

Sarah Newton: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reports the following figures:Year2015/162016/172017/18-£m£m£mGovernment Funding134133128Income909193Annual Spending224224221Year2015/162016/172017/18Staff Employed2,7742,7482,686  Notes: 1. Government funding is the Net Operating Cost from HSE's Annual Report and Accounts (ARA)2. Income includes cost recovery and commercial activies3. Annual Spending is the Total Operating Cost from HSE's ARA4. Staff employed is the average headcount figure

Social Security Benefits

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to implement safeguards in situations where her Department makes backdated payments of benefits to vulnerable people with mental health issues or drug or alcohol dependencies.

Sarah Newton: On legacy benefits when we identify a customer is vulnerable every endeavour is made to contact the claimant or their appointee, discuss and explain the high value payment we intend to issue and identify if they have any concerns over receiving such an amount of money. As part of this process both from the conversation and the earlier information we had available we would encourage using split or phased payments if we viewed a risk in making one large payment to the claimant. If we cannot make contact, we will refer to our visiting team to make attempts to visit them at home and have those conversations. On Universal Credit, vulnerability is dealt with on a case-by-case basis so that the necessary support can be given to claimants. Current payment regulations only permit us to restrict amounts of payments with a claimant’s consent. If we did not feel that claimant was able to manage their affairs, or make that decision for themselves, we would then consider if an appointee was appropriate. The Department is currently working to enhance safeguarding procedures across all benefit products to help staff to identify claimants who may need additional support because their circumstances make them vulnerable. A multi-disciplinary working group is currently undertaking a comprehensive review of the processes and procedures we have in place across DWP to identify and support vulnerable claimants who are entitled to backdated payments of benefits. This will include sharing best practice from legacy processes and exploring what more we can do to ensure vulnerable claimants in this situation are given access to the support they need, and developing a proposal for the implementation of these improvements. This will ensure that the Department will be able to fully support the eligible claimants on Universal Credit who will be entitled to a Severe Disability Premium transitional payment.

Disability Living Allowance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of disability living allowance claimants with (i) psychiatric conditions and (ii) non psychiatric conditions who have lost their entitlement to disability living allowance following a personal independence payment eligibility assessment in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: Clearance data, which can be broken down by condition for claimants who had a Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessment, by whether the claim was a reassessment or new claim and by the month the claim was cleared, is available on Stat Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk Guidance for users is available at: https://sw.stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html. Latest statistics show that under PIP the proportion of recipients with a mental health condition getting the top rates of support is over five times higher compared to Disability Living Allowance (DLA): 31% under PIP compared to 6% under DLA.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a ban on tethering animals in unsafe locations including (a) roundabouts (b) roadsides and (c) other public land.

David Rutley: Defra is keen to ensure that we uphold our high standards of animal welfare including in relation to tethering. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) it is an offence to fail to provide for an animal’s welfare or to cause it any unnecessary suffering. The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids (the Code). The Code provides owners and keepers with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals and includes a specific section on how to tether a horse and other animals are covered. The code makes it clear that the site should not allow animals’ access to a public highway or public footpaths. If anyone is concerned about the way a horse or other animal has been tethered they should report the matter either to the relevant local authority or to the RSPCA or World Horse Welfare who can investigate. If a horse or other animal is found not to be tethered appropriately it could lead to a prosecution under the 2006 Act. Defra considers that this legislation and guidance provides the right safeguards in respect of tethering.

Food: National Security

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs, if the Government will make an assessment of the importance of food security to wider national security.

David Rutley: Food is one of the 13 Critical National Infrastructure sectors in the UK. The UK’s Critical Infrastructure is defined by the Government as: ‘Those critical elements of Infrastructure (facilities, systems, sites, property, information, people, networks and processes), the loss or compromise of which would result in major detrimental impact on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, leading to severe economic or social consequences or to loss of life.’ Defra, as the lead Government Department for food, produces an annual Sector Security and Resilience Plan which covers risk to food supply from natural hazards and malicious threats, including Physical, Personnel, and Cyber risks. A public summary of the plan is published on GOV.UK. The UK Food sector has a highly effective and resilient food supply chain, owing to the size, geographic diversity and competitive nature of the industry. Although there is recognised dependency on other critical services such as fuel, energy, transport and communications, the resilience of the sector has been demonstrated by its response to potentially disruptive challenges in recent years. Government and the sector will continue to work together to ensure the resilience of food supply.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many holdings were tested for bovine tuberculosis using interferon gamma testing; how many animals were tested in each of those holdings using interferon gamma tests; and of those animals tested, how many tested positive in each county of England in 2018.

George Eustice: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 04 February 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The number of holdings in English counties that were subject to interferon gamma testing is set out in the attached table. This includes the number of animals that were tested and the number of samples that were positive.


Gamma testing - all counties
(Word Document, 36.45 KB)




Gamma testing data for England
(Word Document, 36.63 KB)

George Eustice: The number of holdings in English counties that were subject to interferon gamma testing is set out in the attached table. This includes the number of animals that were tested and the number of samples that were positive.


Gamma testing - all counties
(Word Document, 36.45 KB)




Gamma testing data for England
(Word Document, 36.63 KB)

Air Pollution

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what are the main sources of particulate matters in (a) urban and (b) rural areas.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government does not break down pollution sources into urban and rural areas; however, we do publish pollution emission maps, which are available on BEIS National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory website: http://naei.beis.gov.uk/emissionsapp/.   The main emissions sources of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on a national scale are domestic solid fuel burning (38% in 2016), industrial sources (16%) and road transport (12%), including brake and tyre wear.

Horse Racing: Animal Welfare

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans the Government has to require the British Horseracing Authority to publish the names and details of all horses killed in racing and in training.

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government plans to compel the British Horseracing Authority to publish the names and details of all horses killed in racing and in training; and if he will make a statement.

David Rutley: Defra is keen to ensure that we uphold our high standards of welfare including in relation to horseracing. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are responsible for racehorse and rider safety at British racetracks and produce annual statistics on the numbers of equine fatalities at such racetracks. The BHA also work in collaboration with the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make racetracks as safe as possible. The Government and the BHA accept that more should be done to reduce the number of racehorse fatalities on our racetracks and I am in active discussions with the BHA about how to achieve that aim and make horseracing safer.

Horse Racing: Animal Welfare

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of what factors are behind an increase in the use of the whip in British horseracing.

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to reduce the number of breaches of the whip regulations in British horse racing.

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the decision to ban the whip in horseracing in Norway; and whether there are plans to introduce such a prohibition in the UK.

Mike Hill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to prohibit the use of the whip in horseracing in the UK.

David Rutley: Defra is keen to ensure that we uphold our high standards of welfare including in relation to horseracing, and irresponsible use of the whip is completely unacceptable. The British Horseracing Association (BHA) requires that whips be used responsibly and jockeys may only use the whip within certain strict rules. The BHA policy on the whip was drawn up in consultation with animal welfare groups, such as the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare. The latest rules include a threshold on the number of times the whip is used before racing stewards can consider an enquiry. If the rules are broken, the jockey may be banned from racing for a certain number of days depending on the seriousness of the offence. Defra is satisfied that the rules in place are sufficient to restrict and limit the use of the whip in horse racing.

Dogs: Animal Breeding

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licensed dog breeders there are in the (a) UK and (b) Clacton constituency.

Giles Watling: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many licensed animal breeders there are in the (a) United Kingdom and (b) Clacton constituency.

David Rutley: The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 came into force on 1 October 2018. These regulations replace outdated Acts, and are based on modern welfare standards. The Regulations include a requirement for local authorities to submit data to Defra each year on the number of licences in force for each licensable activity. The first submission will be required to be submitted to Defra by 31 May 2019 covering the period October 2018 to March 2019 inclusive. Therefore, the Department does not currently hold data on the number of licensed dog breeders under these regulations. Under the previous legislation, there were an estimated 4,950 licensed dog breeders in England. Breeders of animals other than dogs are not subject to licensing requirements, unless they are in the business of selling the animals as pets. Under the previous legislation there were an estimated 2,300 licensed pet sellers in England, but this includes sellers that do not breed the animals themselves. Defra does not hold data on the whole of the UK or for individual Parliamentary constituencies. This information is held by Local Authorities.

Sheep Meat: New Zealand

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will discuss with his New Zealand counterpart how that country labels exports of sheepmeat to include information on pre-stunning.

David Rutley: Defra officials regularly meet with their New Zealand counterparts to discuss a range of issues including the New Zealand requirements around slaughter and food labelling. Officials have discussed the issue of stunned sheepmeat exports from New Zealand.

Waste: Exports

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the export of waste to countries that do not meet UK human health and environmental protection standards in the disposal of waste.

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to ensure that waste exported from the UK is dealt with in accordance with UK and EU guidance on human health and environmental standards at its final destination.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: We want to promote UK-based recycling and export less waste to be processed abroad. We want to tighten controls over the waste which we do export. We are looking at a suite of measures including increasing monitoring of international waste shipments and charging higher fees to improve compliance. We set out these ideas in the Resources and Waste Strategy at the end of last year and will publish detailed plans soon.   The UK is a Party to the United Nations Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal. The Convention provides a global system for controlling the export of hazardous wastes and wastes collected from households. The requirements of the Basel Convention have been implemented in UK law by the EU Waste Shipment Regulations (Regulation (EC) 1013/2006) and the UK Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations 2007.   The EU Waste Shipment Regulations impose strict conditions on the types of waste that can be exported, and set out procedures that waste exporters must follow. They prohibit the export from the EU of waste for disposal to a country outside the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Regulation 21 of the UK Transfrontier Shipment of Waste Regulations make it an offence to transport waste destined for disposal to countries outside the EFTA.   The legislation also requires that those involved in the shipment of waste take all necessary steps to ensure waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and at the waste management facility in the country of destination.   The UK has a robust approach to enforcing these controls. In 2017 the Environment Agency (EA) inspected more than 1,000 shipping containers and returned 367 of these to their site of loading. The EA stopped over 7,000 tonnes of waste at ports and prevented nearly 9,000 tonnes of waste from reaching ports.   The EA takes a proactive, intelligence-led approach to ensure it targets shipments that pose a high risk of non-compliance. The EA’s use of Stop Notices has proved to be an effective tool in prohibiting illegal waste shipments from being exported. After exports are stopped, the costs associated with returning a waste shipment that is found to be unfit for export to the site of origin for further treatment can be a significant cost to the exporter. This has been sufficient to educate and deter further illegal waste exports without the need for additional sanctions.

Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assistance his Department is providing to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy initiative.

David Rutley: I am encouraged by this international project which gives the Commonwealth a real opportunity to save its forests, while celebrating the Queen’s service to the Commonwealth. A number of organisations that Defra support represent the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy at a national and international level, including the National Forest Company.   As part of this wider initiative and as part of the five saplings project, Ministers have been planting ‘5 Queens Commonwealth Canopy trees’ to support this initiative.

Coal Fired Power Stations and Incinerators: Health Hazards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) his Department or (b) Public Health England has (i) undertaken or (ii) made an assessment of any studies that compare the effectiveness of the different methods of filtering pollutants used in (A) waste incinerators and (B) coal fired power stations for protecting human health.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: No such studies have been undertaken by the Environment Agency or Public Health England, nor any assessments made of such studies.

Circuses: Animal Welfare

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to protect the welfare of wild animals touring with travelling circuses in England once The Welfare of Wild Animals in Travelling Circuses (England) Regulations 2012 expire in January 2020.

David Rutley: I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave to the honourable member for Oxford West and Abingdon on 16 October 2018 to Question 176633.   https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-10-08/176633/

Agriculture: Migrant Workers

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the paper entitled The UK future skills-based immigration system, published by the Home Office on 19 December 2018, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on the effect of the recently announced skills-based immigration system on (a) the food and farming sector and (b) the UK’s security of food supply.

David Rutley: It is a priority of this Government to enable an innovative, productive and competitive food supply chain.Whilst the UK prepares to leave the EU, Defra is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that there is a long term strategy for the food and farming workforce as part of the future immigration policy.Following publication of the Immigration White Paper on 19 December, the Home Office has initiated an extensive twelve month programme of targeted engagement across the UK, and with the EU and international partners, to capture views and ensure that we design a future system that works for the whole of the UK.

Tree Planting

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has for the planting of trees and other natural carbon capturing plants.

David Rutley: We have planted 15 million trees since 2010, and the Government is committed to planting 11 million trees in the countryside, and one million trees in our towns and cities, in this Parliament. We are confident that this commitment will be met with over three million trees planted in this Parliament to date. The Government has made major commitments to help meet these targets: in January last year, the Prime Minister announced £5.7 million to launch the new Northern Forest; and in the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced £50 million to support the planting of new woodlands through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee, together with £10 million to plant new trees in our towns and cities through the urban trees challenge fund. In addition to tree planting, the UK Government’s Clean Growth Strategy set out plans for the restoration of peatland. Peatlands store huge quantities of carbon as plant matter is transformed into peat. In April 2018, £10 million of funding for peatland restoration was allocated to four large-scale peatland restoration projects in England. The Government will be publishing an England Peat Strategy later this year.

Biodiversity

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to slow biodiversity loss in the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. In England we are investing in our protected sites, in the restoration and creation of wildlife-rich habitats and in species recovery. At sea, we are expanding our protected areas. Twelve Special Protection Areas have been designated since 2017, with more under consideration. Last summer we consulted on an ambitious third tranche of 41 Marine Conservation Zones, to be designated later this year. On land, around 94% of our protected sites, covering over 1 million hectares, are now in good condition or have management in place to restore their condition. We have established management to create approximately 130,000 hectares of additional wildlife-rich habitat since the publication of Biodiversity 2020 in 2011. In the last two years we have announced new funding for peatland restoration and tree planting. In April 2018, £10 million of funding for peatland restoration was allocated to four large-scale peatland restoration projects in England. Additionally, in the 2018 Budget, the Chancellor announced £60 million for new woodland creation through the Woodland Carbon Guarantee and Urban Trees Challenge Fund. Our agencies are working on a range of species recovery projects with landowning and conservation partners, for example on freshwater pearl mussel, short-haired bumblebee and stone curlew. We also protect a wide variety of our most threatened native species through the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulation 2017. These laws make it an offence to intentionally kill, injure or capture listed species, as well as damage or destroy breeding sites. Our 25 Year Environment Plan steps up our ambition further, setting long-term goals for recovering nature and setting out over two hundred actions to enhance the environment.

Recycling

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to introduce compulsory recycling for commercial trade waste producers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As we stated in our Resources and Waste Strategy which we published in December 2018, we will legislate, where necessary, to ensure that businesses present recycling and food waste separately from residual waste for collection.   We will shortly be publishing a consultation which seeks views on how to increase both the quantity and quality of recycling from businesses.

River Thames: Cocaine

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to address the high level of cocaine found in eels in the River Thames.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) undertakes a wide range of monitoring in the River Thames, including some exploratory monitoring for cocaine, to manage water quality and inform future regulatory approaches where appropriate.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Secondment

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many civil servants from his Department have been seconded to the Department for Exiting the European Union since 1 January  2019.

David Rutley: Defra can confirm that no staff have been seconded to DExEU since 1 January 2019.

National Parks: Disadvantaged

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of visitors to national parks from deprived areas.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government has commissioned a 21st Century Review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs), led by Julian Glover, supported by an experienced advisory group. Among its objectives the Review will examine the role of National Parks and AONBs in connecting people from all sections of society with the natural environment. The Review builds on the existing Eight-Point Plan for England’s National Parks 2016-2020, which sets out plans to encourage more visitors to National Parks. The Government has also announced £10 million funding for the Children and Nature Programme which aims to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have better access to the natural environment.

Food: Waste Disposal

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Government plans to announce the successful bids for the redistribution organisation fund.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The grant opportunity for increasing surplus food redistribution through overcoming financial barriers launched on 11 January this year. Successful bids are due to be announced in April with projects due to begin in early May.

Animal Welfare

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is considering issuing specific guidance on the practice of animal tethering.

David Rutley: Defra is keen to ensure that we uphold our high standards of welfare including in relation to tethering. Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) it is an offence to fail to provide for an animal’s welfare or to cause it any unnecessary suffering. The 2006 Act is backed up by the statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Horses, Ponies, Donkeys and Their Hybrids (the Code). The Code provides owners and keepers with information on how to meet the welfare needs of their animals and includes a specific section on how to tether horses and other animals covered. If anyone is concerned about the way a horse or other animal has been tethered they should report the matter either to the relevant local authority or to the RSPCA or World Horse Welfare who can investigate. If a horse or other animal is found not to be tethered appropriately it could lead to a prosecution under the 2006 Act. Defra considers that this legislation and guidance provides the right safeguards in respect of animal tethering.

Natural England: Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to Answer of 19 November 2018 to Question 189648 on Natural England: Finance, what is meant by broadening the scope of Natural England's income base.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Although the vast majority of Natural England’s work is funded from core Grant in Aid (GiA), it also receives income from a diverse range of sources such as fees and charges, commercial activities and external grant funding. Natural England is looking at options for expanding these sources of income whilst also exploring new investment mechanisms for green finance.

Home Office

Immigration: Interviews

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many re-documentation interviews  were scheduled to take place on 4 December 2018 for each nationality of interviewee.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many re-documentation interviews have been conducted in each of the past 12 months for each nationality of interviewee.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department uses to decide on the eligibility for a re-documentation interview.

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many re-documentation interviews have taken place for Zimbabwean citizens in each of the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: The information requested is not held in a reportable format.Interviews for re-documentation are a standard part of Home Office engagement with the countries of return. Interviews take place at the request of the receiving country to confirm the nationality and identity of the person being returned in order for a travel document to be produced and only occur after an immigration application has been refused or a decision to return has been made.

Police: Pensions

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will ensure that the UK Government fully funds police pension cost increases in (a) 2020 and (b) after.

Mr Nick Hurd: In his Budget, the Chancellor committed to providing funding for the police in 2019/20 to cover additional pensions costs above the £165m which was expected at Budget 2016. The provisional police settlement announced specific pensions funding of £153m to cover the additional costs arising from both the police officer scheme and the police staff in the civil service pension scheme.The Government is enabling an overall increase in funding of up to £970m in police funding including precept and national priorities. This pensions funding, taken together with the additional grant funding and local precept, provides sufficient means for the police to meet cost increases, while continuing to recruit and invest in the capabilities they need.Cost pressures, including pensions, beyond 2019/20 will be considered as part of the next Spending Review where decisions on longer term police funding will be made in the round.

Police: Finance

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that police budgets are adequate in the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

Mr Nick Hurd: We will always ensure that the police have the powers and resources needed to keep our citizens and communities safe.The next Spending Review will set long term police budgets. The Home Office is grateful to the police for the good work they are doing to build the evidence base to support that work, and we will also want to see evidence that this year’s investment is being well spent. In addition to working together to understand demand, we will be working with the police to present an ambitious plan to drive improved efficiency, productivity and effectiveness through the next Spending Review period.The Home Secretary has been clear that he will prioritise funding for the police at the next Spending Review.

Police: Cardiff

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will ensure that Cardiff is allocated a level of funding which is adequate for the policing of a capital city and a seat of government.

Mr Nick Hurd: The proposed funding settlement we announced last week increases funding for the policing system by up to £970 million, including pensions funding and council tax precept. For South Wales Police, this could mean an increase in total cash funding of up to £19 million to £290 million in 2019/20 if the Police and Crime Commissioner chooses to increase precept by two pounds a month.I recently met with the South Wales PCC and Chief Constable, and discussed the issue of capital city-related demand. We will consider issues around longer term funding in the round at the next Spending Review.

Police: Wales

Christina Rees: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to enable police forces in Wales to access funding from the apprenticeship levy; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: At a time when we are increasing investment in policing and the police are actively recruiting, the police constable degree apprenticeship is an important addition to the way forces recruit. It is also an attractive opportunity for people who want to earn while they learn in a valuable and exciting job.That is why the Government stepped in earlier this year to provide £600k short-term funding to allow Welsh forces to proceed with recruiting and training new officers through this important route.While this funding has helped Welsh forces to put provision in place during the current financial year, the UK Government clearly wants to ensure the best possible outcome for forces across England and Wales. We are working with our partners across Government, in the College of Policing, Welsh Government and Welsh forces to find a long-term solution to this issue.

Immigrants: EU Nationals

Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provisions will be available to dual EU-UK nationals to ensure that they are able to sponsor eligible family members through the EU Settlement Scheme.

Caroline Nokes: In line with the draft Withdrawal Agreement, an EU citizen who naturalises as a British citizen while also retaining their nationality of origin and having previously relied on their free movement rights in the UK will be able to sponsor eligible family members under the EU Settlement Scheme. The relevant provisions are set out in Appendix EU to the Immigration Rules.

Police: Leave

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has plans for police forces to impose leave embargoes as a result of the Government's decision to implement fully planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with the National Police Chiefs Council on implementing Operation Stack for each port in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and what estimate he has had made of the number of police personnel required for that eventuality.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with the NPCC on the deployment of soldiers in the event of no deal being reached for the UK leaving the EU.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many additional officers will be allocated to the National Police Chiefs Council's Brexit contingency planning team as a result of the decision to implement fully planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Mr Nick Hurd: Arrangements for police leave and the allocation of officers to the National Police Chiefs Council Brexit contingency planning team are matters for operational policing and not for the Home Office.Port arrangements are a matter for operational policing and the Local Resilience Forums (LRFs). Forces are working closely with partner agencies in Local Resilience Forums across the country to prepare for a No Deal exit scenario. Government is assisting LRFs where appropriate.The police have tried and tested strategic mobilisation plans for responding to a wide range of emergency scenarios, including widespread disorder. We are working closely with the National Police Chiefs Council and National Police Coordination Centre to ensure they are appropriate for a No Deal EU Exit and any requirements for mutual aid or other support will be considered within that contingency planning.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much of the £17 million allocated to establish the three-year Violence Against Women and Girls Service Transformation fund has been awarded to (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire.

Victoria Atkins: Our Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy sets out an ambitious programme to make tackling VAWG everybody’s business and over this spending review period, we are providing £100 million of dedicated funding to tackle VAWG.VAWG services are mainly commissioned at a local level by Police and Crime Commissioners, local authorities and health commissioners. The Government’s VAWG National Statement of Expectations encourages such decisions to be taken at a local level and should be driven by local need.Our £17 million three-year VAWG Service Transformation Fund, is providing funding to 41 projects across England and Wales to embed local best practice and ensure that early intervention and prevention, not crisis response, is the norm. All local authorities, Police and Crime Commissioners and Clinical Commissioning Groups were invited to apply, however not every area took up the opportunity to do so. The application process was highly competitive, and decisions were taken to ensure a reasonable spread of funding geographically, by type of VAWG, and by stage of intervention. No funding has been provided through the VAWG Service Transformation Fund directly to Barnsley or South Yorkshire.Details of the allocated funding is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/violence-against-women-and-girls-service-transformation-fund-successful-bids-2017-to-2020

Asylum: Children

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing an independent guardian or advocate to all unaccompanied children as a means of (a) assisting them with disclosures of modern slavery and (b) preventing them from being exploited or going missing.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his policies of the (a) ECPAT UK and Missing People's Still in Harm's Way report which found that one quarter of child trafficking victims and 15 per cent of unaccompanied children went missing from care in 2017 and (b) recommendation in that report on providing independent guardianship for all unaccompanied children.

Victoria Atkins: The Government is committed to rolling independent Child Trafficking Advocates (ICTAs) out nationally. Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which makes provisions for ICTAs, is being considered in the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act, led by Frank Field MP, Maria Miller MP, and Baroness Butler-Sloss. The aim of the review is to identify where the act is working well, what can be improved in the implementation of the Act and whether specific areas of the legislation need to be strengthened.The Government will carefully consider any recommendations about ICTAs which come out of the Review ahead of national rollout.Unaccompanied children are looked after by the relevant local authority and are entitled to the same services as any other looked after child. Under these arrangements, unaccompanied children will have a professional social worker and an independent reviewing officer to oversee their care arrangements.In addition, all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England are referred to the Refugee Council’s Children’s Advice Project and they are also entitled to legal assistance in pursuing their asylum claim. The Government believes that these arrangements ensure unaccompanied children are provided with the independent support and advice that they need.

Home Office: Trade Associations

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which regulatory functions imposed by legislation for which his Department has responsibility are currently undertaken by trade associations; and if he will make a statement.

Victoria Atkins: No Home Office regulatory functions are currently undertaken by trade associations.

101 Calls: Derbyshire

Maggie Throup: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the 101 service response times were for Derbyshire in (a) 2016-17 and (b) 2017-18.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold this information. The handling of 101 calls, including response times and performance targets, is an operational matter for the police.

Police: Equipment and Technology

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance is given to police forces on the provision of improved equipment and technology to assist frontline officers with capability, safety and welfare.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government is clear that police officers should have the best possible protection when facing the physical violence that is sometimes directed against them. Decisions about the selection and purchase of police equip-ment are primarily for chief officers of police. The Government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory provides scientific and technical advice to support the police, including the development and management of pro-tective equipment standards, such as body armour and personal defence sprays.

West Midlands Police

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) current and (b) future (i) efficiency, (ii) capability and (iii) capacity of West Midlands Police force.

Mr Nick Hurd: Assessments of forces current efficiency and effectiveness at managing their resources and tackling crime are primarily the responsibility of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The results of HMICFRSs most recent inspections of West Midlands Police are available on the Inspectorate’s website. https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/peel-assessments/peel-2017/west-midlands/  Decisions regarding how resources are allocated including the capability and capacity needs of forces are a matter for PCCs and Chief Constables, who are best placed to understand how to meet the needs of local communities.  For 2019/20 we are proposing the biggest increase in funding since 2010 - total funding of up to £14 billion for 2019-20, an increase of up to £970m compared to 2018/19, including council tax, pensions funding and national investment. If the PCC for West Midlands chooses to raise their council tax precept by £24 a year, this would translate to a potential increase in funding of up to £34m for West Midlands PoliceI have been clear that I will prioritise police funding at the next Spending Review. My Department is working closely with policing colleagues – including the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police - to understand their future capability and capacity needs, and what future efficiency gains may be possible.

Asylum: Children

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with local authorities on the funding available for supporting unaccompanied asylum seeking children in Portsmouth.

Caroline Nokes: As part of our review, all Upper Tier and Unitary local authorities were invited to provide detailed feedback and information about how much it costs them to support UASC. Over 50 local authorities, including Portsmouth, responded. All of the evidence submitted has been taken into consideration. I am grateful for the contribution of local authorities like Portsmouth in supporting UASC and for their contribution to the review.

Politicians: Visas

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answers of 4 January 2019 to Questions 205232, 205233 and 205235, if he will take steps to ensure timely visa application processes for invited participants in Parliamentary events.

Caroline Nokes: Published data on entry clearance visa processing times, including the percentage of visas processed within published service standards, is published online at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigrationThe vast majority of straightforward visa applications are processed within Service standards.Additional services are available to assist with time-critical visits.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much it will cost to apply for European Temporary Leave to Remain in the event of the UK leaving the EU.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-EU family members would be allowed to accompany an EU citizen under the planned arrangements for EU citizens migrating to the UK after 29 March 2019 in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Caroline Nokes: European Temporary Leave to Remain will only apply if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. It will enable EU citizens who arrive in the UK after EU exit to live, work and study in the UK for a temporary period. It will also allow them to be accompanied or joined by their close family members (their spouse, civil partner, partner, and dependent child under 18) who are third country nationals. There will no limit to the number of dependent children who may accompany or join the EU citizen.Information about the application fee for European Temporary Leave to Remain will be made available in due course.

UK Border Force: Standards

Christian Matheson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans he has to publish UK Border Force performance data by port of entry.

Caroline Nokes: Border Force does not routinely publish data that does not meet the Home Office standard for publication or that could impact its operational effectiveness. There are no current plans to publish this data in the future.Border Force transparency data can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/border-force-statistics

Asylum: Slavery

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2019 to Question 211929, what steps his Department is taking to contact people affected who will have received a final stage National Referral Mechanism conclusive grounds decision and whose support will have ended.

Victoria Atkins: Government is making every effort to pay back everyone affected by the contract changes in March 2018. We recognise that some individuals will have left government funded services and integrated into communities in the UK and overseas and so may be harder for government to contact than others that are still in support services.On 24 January 2019, personalised letters were sent out to all those we identified as being affected and eligible for repayments. For those still in support, the letters detailed how much and how they will be paid. For those who have left support, the letters explained how to apply for these payments.If an individual believes they are eligible but did not receive a letter, they can complete an application form on gov.uk. There is no closing date for when people can apply for back payments if they think they are eligible. Further information is available on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-subsistence-rates-back-payment-victims-of-modern-slavery).We are working with stakeholders to raise awareness of the gov.uk page and the letters that were sent out to those identified.

Undocumented Migrants: Kent

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of suspected migrant crossings by boat to Kent in (a) October, (b) November, (c) December and (d) January 2019.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many suspected migrants attempting to enter Kent by small boat were intercepted in (a) October, (b) November 2018 (c) December 2018 and (d) January 2019.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attempts by persons who were suspected illegal migrants to enter Kent by small boat were intercepted by the French authorities in (a) October 2018, (b) November 2018, (C) December 2018 and (a) January 2019.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attempts by persons who were suspected illegal migrants to enter Kent by small boat were intercepted by the UK authorities in (a) October 2018, (b) November 2018, (c) December 2018 and (d) January 2019.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many attempts by persons who were suspected illegal migrants to enter Kent by small boat were successful in (a) October 2018, (b) November 2018, (c) December 2018 and (d) January 2019.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the claimed nationality is of the suspected illegal migrants that entered Kent by small boat in each of (a) October 2018, (b) November 2018, (c) December 2018 and (d) January 2019.

Caroline Nokes: During 2018, over 500 migrants - mostly Iranian - attempted to travel to the UK on small vessels. 80% of them attempted this in the last three months of the year. Around 40% of the attempts last year were either disrupted by French law enforcement or returned to France via French agencies.Border Force and operational partners are carrying out intelligence-led activity on a number of fronts to prevent migrants from entering the UK via clandestine and illegal means. We are also working very closely with our colleagues in France to prevent migrants from making these dangerous crossings.Through these efforts, we reduced the number of individuals attempting the crossing from around 250 in December to 90 in January.

Asylum: Children

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to ensure that all trafficked and unaccompanied children have an independent legal guardian.

Victoria Atkins: In local authorities where the Independent Child Trafficking Advocate (ICTA) service has been rolled out, all children that are potential victims of trafficking are eligible for support.The ICTA service was rolled out in three early adopter sites in Greater Manchester, Hampshire and Wales in January 2017 with an additional £2m invested to expand the ICTA provision into West Midlands, East Midlands and Croydon. This will mean the service will be available in one third of all local authorities by April 2019.Unaccompanied children are looked after by the relevant local authority and are entitled to the same services as any other looked after child. Under these arrangements, unaccompanied children will have a professional social worker and an independent reviewing officer to oversee their care arrangements. All unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in England are referred to the Refugee Council’s Children’s Panel and they are also entitled to legal assistance in pursuing their asylum claim. The Government believes that these arrangements ensure unaccompanied children are provided with the independent support and advice that they need.Section 48 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, which makes provisions for ICTAs, is being considered in the Independent Review of the Modern Slavery Act led by Frank Field, Baroness Butler-Sloss and Maria Miller. The Government will carefully consider any recommendations for the national rollout of ICTAs which come out of the review.

Crimes of Violence: Health

Sarah Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to open the consultation on a public health duty to tackle serious violence.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Secretary announced that the Government will consult on a new legal duty to support a multi-agency approach to preventing and tackling serious violence.The consultation will explore different options to make multi-agency working more effective than at present and will seek to identify best practice. The consultation will be launched shortly.

Animals: Crime

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans the Government has to increase police resources to deal with crimes against animals and wildlife, including investigating reports of illegal fox hunting.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, committed to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit until 2019/20. This money is in addition to central government funding to police forces. Decisions on funding the National Wildlife Crime Unit beyond 2020 will be taken at the next Spending Review.The Government does not prescribe the nature or level of resources deployed by individual police forces to tackle crimes against animals and wildlife or any other form of crime. It is for Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, as operational leaders and elected local representa-tives, to ensure that forces’ priorities locally reflect those of their communities, and it is important that forces have the flexibility to deploy their resources without Government interference.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the (a) budget and (b) force-level allocations of the Police Transformation Fund are for each year since its inception including planned spend for 2019-20.

Mr Nick Hurd: a) Budget• Decisions on the size of the Police Transformation Fund (PTF) are made by Ministers as part of the annual Police Funding Settlement. The Final Police Funding Settlement voted for by Parliament in 16/17 included PTF of £76m, and £175m for 17/18 and 18/19. The Final Police Funding Settlement for 19/20, debated in Parliament today, includes £175m for the PTF. Each of these years include a Spending Review commitment to fund a national Firearms Uplift.• So far the planned spend for 19/20 is limited to existing commitment levels and, subject to Ministerial agreement, further funding allocations will be confirmed as per recommendations by the Police Reform and Transformation Board (PRTB) to further progress its Reform Portfolio.b) Force level allocation• Recommendations on the use of the sector led PTF is made by the PRTB to Ministers for final decision. The PRTB use the National Policing Vision 2025, agreed with the sector to identify priority areas of Police Reform with bids commissioned from Lead Forces that deliver programmes and projects. The fund is supporting projects identified as having wider benefit than for the individual forces that host them.Details of forces receiving PTF funding are published on gov.uk here;https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-transformation-fund-successful-bids-2016-to-2017 , https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-transformation-fund-successful-bids-2017-to-2018 and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/police-transformation-fund-investments-in-2018-to-2019

Immigration Controls: National Security

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, with reference to his oral contribution of 5 September 2018, Official Report, column 169, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new power to detain people at the UK border to determine whether they are engaged in hostile state activity on the security of the UK.

Mr Ben Wallace: Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security introduced new powers that would allow ports and border officers to stop, question, search and detain persons at UK ports to determine whether they are or have been engaged in hostile activity.The Bill completed its parliamentary passage on Tuesday 22 January but has not yet received Royal Assent. Following Royal Assent, the Schedule 3 powers will not come into force until the associated statutory guidance has been subject to public consultation, debated by both Houses of Parliament and subsequently commenced by regulations.These powers were identified as a key gap in the capability of UK law enforcement to tackle the threat from hostile activity and the Government is pleased that Parliament has supported their passage in the Bill.Once in force, the powers will be subject to the scrutiny and oversight of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner who will report annually on their exercise.

Windrush Generation: Compensation

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications to the Windrush Compensation Scheme there have been by people in (a) London and (b) Hornsey and Wood Green constituency.

Caroline Nokes: The Government has committed to putting in place a compensation scheme for members of the Windrush generation who have suffered loss as a result of difficulties in demonstrating their lawful immigration status.The Home Office is currently considering views on the design and operation of the compensation scheme submitted during a recent public consultation, which closed on 16 November.The compensation scheme is not yet in place to receive applications. We will announce details of the final scheme and how to apply as soon as possible.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority: Immigration Enforcement Directorate

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many joint operations between the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority and Immigration Enforcement there were in each year since 2014.

Victoria Atkins: The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) does not collect information in the form requested as the majority of GLAA’s and, before that, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), joint operations are in partnership with multiple agencies, including Immigration Enforcement. The table below sets out the number of joint operations between the GLAA, formerly the GLA, and partner enforcement organisations from 2014/15 to 2017/18. GLAA partner enforcement organisations have included HM Revenue and Customs, UK Visas and Immigration Enforcement, National Crime Agency, Modern Slavery Human Trafficking Unit, UK Police Forces, Local Authorities and the Health and Safety Executive.YearJoint Operations2014/15532015/16542016/17572017/1865

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the annual budget has been for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority for each of the last three years; and how many staff that Authority has employed in each of the last three years.

Victoria Atkins: The budget and staffing for the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), formerly the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), in each of the last three years was: Resource (£000)Capital (£000)Average Staffing Equivalent2015/163856-662016/174500-722017/18609068101

Knives: Crime

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of knife crimes in which victims were killed or wounded were associated with the supply of illegal narcotic drugs in each year from 2015.

Victoria Atkins: The Home Office does not collect the data requested.

Asylum: Crime

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he has taken to prevent attacks on refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

Victoria Atkins: Any refugees or asylum seekers in the UK who are subjected to attack are encouraged to report such attacks to the police.Any criminal offences that are motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, ethnicity or nationality are hate crimes.The 2016 Hate Crime Action Plan – refreshed in 2018 – includes a range of commitments aimed at preventing all forms of hate crime, including funding of projects designed to challenge prejudice.The Government is also supporting the police online reporting website True Vision, and for victims who wish to report to a third party there are a number available including Stop Hate UK, Tell Mama, Community Security Trust and Galop.

Department for International Development

Hospital Ships: Finance

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January 2019  to Question 210727, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of funding or part-funding a Royal Navy Hospital Ship.

Penny Mordaunt: I am committed to demonstrating how UK aid and the UK Armed Forces can work closely together to achieve the best outcomes for the UK and identify “win-wins” for both departments. It is therefore right that we explore innovative new options, and as part of this we are currently considering the potential merits of a cross government maritime capability.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Staff

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Corrected Answer of 22 January 2019 to Question 206251 on Government Departments: Staff, how many civil servants in his department were working (a) part and (b) full time on projects in the Government Major Projects Portfolio in (i) June 2016 and (ii) December 2018.

David Mundell: None. The GMPP is a continually evolving portfolio of the government’s most complex and high risk projects in which the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland has a facilitating role.

Cabinet Office

Absent Voting

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the ease with which people travelling abroad can register to vote by proxy.

Chloe Smith: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 29 January 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The cost to taxpayers of delivering the 2016 EU Referendum was £129.1 million. A breakdown of that cost is provided in the report published by the Electoral Commission. The then Government undertook publicity on EU membership ahead of the referendum. This cost an additional £9.3 million. The total cost to taxpayers was thus £138.4 million Electors who are registered to vote but will be travelling abroad during the time of an election are able to apply for a proxy vote for that particular poll or polls. The application must be made in writing, it must include specific information about the elector and their proxy, and the reason for applying for a proxy.

Chloe Smith: The cost to taxpayers of delivering the 2016 EU Referendum was £129.1 million. A breakdown of that cost is provided in the report published by the Electoral Commission. The then Government undertook publicity on EU membership ahead of the referendum. This cost an additional £9.3 million. The total cost to taxpayers was thus £138.4 million Electors who are registered to vote but will be travelling abroad during the time of an election are able to apply for a proxy vote for that particular poll or polls. The application must be made in writing, it must include specific information about the elector and their proxy, and the reason for applying for a proxy.

Crimes of Violence: Wolverhampton

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) violent crimes and (b) sexual offences were committed in Wolverhampton in each year since 2010.

Chloe Smith: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 February 2019.The correct answer should have been:

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.


UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 66.69 KB)




UKSA Final Response
(PDF Document, 137.61 KB)

Chloe Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.


UKSA Response
(PDF Document, 66.69 KB)




UKSA Final Response
(PDF Document, 137.61 KB)

Old Admiralty Building

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what use is planned for the Old Admiralty buildings subsequent to their refurbishment.

Oliver Dowden: Old Admiralty Building will remain in the Government property portfolio. Refurbishment work is continuing as planned and we are still consulting on the building's future use.

Department for Exiting the European Union: Facebook

Stella Creasy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 11 January 2019 to Question 206350, on Department for Exiting the European Union, what the (a) age profile (b) gender and (c) location was of customer audiences that were targeted by the Road to Brexit Facebook page since 21st November 2017.

Chloe Smith: Since 21st November 2017, adverts from the Road to Brexit Facebook page have been targeted towards all adults in the UK. Some adverts featuring advice to UK citizens in the EU have been targeted towards those living in the EU27 states.

Treasury

Universal Credit

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential costs to the public purse of implementing changes to universal credit's automated systems in response to the High Court decision in R (Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart) v SSWP CO/1552/2018.

Elizabeth Truss: I understand that the Department for Work and Pensions is carefully considering the High Court’s Judgment and it is therefore not appropriate to comment on this case, which is a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions.

Customs: Distributed Ledger Technology

Eddie Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February 2018 to Question 128296 on Brexit, if he will provide an update on (a) the potential use of distributed ledger technology for any new customs system after the UK leaves the EU and (b) the outcome of the proof of concept trials referenced in the Answer.

Mel Stride: The pilot focussed on building a single ‘permissioned’ Blockchain that could be used to inform a trader’s ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ status. The proof of concept ran for six weeks, and established that government could use Blockchain to securely share the results of sensitive risk checks to improve the efficiencies of certain customs processes. Any significant implementation of Blockchain would require significant further work by HMRC. Further work on the application of Blockchain to ‘Authorised Economic Operator’ status is deferred until after the UK leaves the EU when timescales and cost will be revisited. We are working with the cross government Future Borders Programme to progress the pilot as part of their Trusted Trader initiative

Loans: Mozambique

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28th January to Question 210062 on Loans: Mozambique, what information UK-based lenders to foreign governments have to disclose and to whom under UK prudential disclosure requirements.

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January to Question 210062 on Loans: Mozambique, who conducts the independent assessment of compliance with those requirements; and where those assessments are published.

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 January to Question 210062 on Loans: Mozambique, whether those prudential disclosure requirements were complied with in the case of the $2 billion of loans from UK-based banks to three state owned companies in Mozambique.

John Glen: UK-based lenders are subject to extensive prudential disclosure requirements under UK law, including for loans made to Governments. The Capital Requirements Regulation requires firms to disclose the geographic distribution of their credit exposures, including those to central banks and governments. These are only required to be disclosed if the loans are material, in accordance with European Banking Authority guidelines. Similarly, the geographical distribution will be broken down to show the areas for which there are material exposures. Lending to a specific country may not be disclosed specifically as lending to that country’s government if it makes up a relatively small amount of the firm’s activity. Instead, the lending would be grouped together with other small exposures to foreign governments under ‘other’ categories. It is firms’ responsibility to ensure adequate assurance over their disclosures and they are required to have policies for assessing the appropriateness of their disclosures, including their verification and frequency. Firms’ compliance with disclosure guidelines will generally be subject to review from their Internal Audit function. As the relevant competent authority, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) takes a risk-based approach to supervision, which will affect whether each individual firm’s disclosures are subject to a compliance review.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to ensure all unpaid debts to Equitable Life pensioners are settled as quickly as possible.

John Glen: Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders. There are no plans to allocate any further funds to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.

Income Tax: Dover

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have been taken out of paying income tax altogether in Dover constituency since 2010.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people who have received an income tax reduction in Dover constituency since 2010.

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the average annual amount of income tax expressed as a proportion of total income paid by an individual in Dover constituency in each year between 2009-10 to 2017-18.

Mel Stride: Increases to the personal allowance between 2010-11 and 2015-16 are estimated to have reduced the income tax liability of 28 million individuals in the UK in 2015-16. This includes taking 4 million of the lowest paid out of income tax altogether. The corresponding figures for the South East, which includes Dover constituency, are 4 million and 532,000 respectively. Estimates for the equivalent figures at constituency level are not sufficiently reliable. Further increases, since 2015-16 to the personal allowance (up to £12,500 in 2019-20) and higher rate threshold (up to £50,000 in 2019-20) are expected to cut tax for 32 million individuals in 2019-20 compared with 2015-16. This includes taking 1.7 million of the lowest paid out of income tax altogether. The corresponding figures for the South East, which includes Dover constituency, are 4.8 million and 234,000 respectively. Estimates of the average amount of Income Tax as a proportion of Income for taxpayers in the parliamentary constituency of Dover between the tax years 2009-10 and 2015-16 are shown in the table below. Tax year 2015-16 is currently the latest year available. Tax yearAverage amount of Income Tax as a proportion of Income, Dover parliamentary constituency (taxpayers only)2009-1014.7%2010-1114.8%2011-1214.4%2012-1312.7%2013-1413.3%2014-1512.9%2015-1613.1% These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes.

Capital Investment: Dover

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the capital account spending has been in Dover constituency in each year between 2009 and 2018.

Elizabeth Truss: HM Treasury does not centrally hold information on historical capital spending per constituency. However, HM Treasury does publish regional breakdowns of capital spending by economic category in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses 2018. For example, on p.138 (attached) is a breakdown of capital spending on transport per region, including capital spending in the South East.



pq attachment
(PDF Document, 140.89 KB)

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Andrea Jenkyns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to conduct a second review of the value of the Equitable Life contingency fund.

John Glen: There are no plans to review the funding allocation made to the Equitable Life Payment Scheme. Since 2010, we have taken more action than any previous government to resolve this issue by allocating up to £1.5bn, tax free, for payment to affected policyholders.

Treasury: Staff

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether non-payroll staff are included in (a) his Department's and (b) HMRC's diversity statistics published in its 2017-18 annual report and accounts.

Robert Jenrick: Non-payroll staff are not included in (a) HM Treasury’s (b) HMRC’s diversity statistics published in the 2017-18 annual report and accounts.

Treasury: Staff

John McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether non-payroll staff working in (a) his Department and (b) HMRC are included in the Public Sector Equality Duty Objectives 2016-20.

Robert Jenrick: Non-payroll staff working in (a) HM Treasury and (b) HMRC are included in the Public Sector Equality Duty Objectives 2016-20.

Gift Aid: Scotland

John Lamont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much gift aid have charities based in Scotland received in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The amount of Gift Aid paid to charities that have indicated to HMRC that they are registered in Scotland is £80 million in each of 2016, 2017 and 2018. Some of these charities may also be registered in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.

Infrastructure: Capital Investment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has any plans to establish a UK Infrastructure Bank.

Robert Jenrick: As announced at the Budget 2018, the government is reviewing how it supports infrastructure finance to ensure good projects continue to be able to raise the finance they need. The government already has a range of existing tools to support infrastructure investment, including the £40bn UK Guarantees Scheme.

Social Enterprises: Tax Allowances

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 75 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, what the timetable is for the review of Social Investment Tax Relief.

Mel Stride: At Budget 2018, the government confirmed it will review the Social Investment Tax Relief in 2019. This is in line with commitments made when the scheme was expanded in 2017. The Call for Evidence will be published in the spring and we will publish a response later this year.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Gaming Machines

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions his Department has had with the representatives from the betting industry on the implementation of a £2 maximum unit stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals.

Mims Davies: Ministers and officials regularly meet with stakeholders to discuss a range of subjects, including the implementation of the stake reduction on B2 machines. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis on gov.uk

Commonwealth Games 2022

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2019 to Question 211336 on Commonwealth Games 2022, what discussions he held with the Prime Minister prior to the appointment of Non-Executive Directors to the Birmingham Organising Committee for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Mims Davies: All shortlisted candidates applied by open competition, were assessed and interviewed against the published criteria as set in the role specification. Appointments were made in line with the process for public appointments and the Governance Code for Public Appointments. As I stated in my previous answer, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is the appointing minister. The Prime Minister was notified about all five successful candidates for the Non-Executive Directors roles by the Secretary of State.

Culture: Barnsley

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding his Department has allocated to arts and culture projects in Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council in each of the last five years.

Michael Ellis: As outlined in the attached table, Arts Council England has allocated the following funding for arts and culture projects in Barnsley, for each year since 2014/15.



Funding since 2014/15
(PDF Document, 11.7 KB)

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, whether his Department has established a responsible business Leadership Group.

Mims Davies: The Department, together with BEIS, has consulted with key stakeholders from business and civil society as a first phase of establishing the Responsible Business Leadership Group. We are carefully considering input on the specific questions to be posed to the Group, on its Chair and membership, and on its relationship to other business councils. Both Departments are committed to ensuring that the Leadership Group is established in a way that reflects a balance of business interests in the UK, and that it makes meaningful progress on issues of business responsibility.

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 15 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, what plans his Department has to invite social enterprise representatives to the responsible business Leadership Group.

Mims Davies: The Department is committed to the Responsible Business Leaders Group reflecting a balance of business interests in the UK.

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 77 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, what steps his Department has taken to convene key civil society stakeholders to explore the potential for a common vision and mission for strengthening the leadership of social sector organisations and the potential for specific government interventions.

Mims Davies: Since the Strategy was published we have established a stakeholder task and finish group to work with us to design a series of events with social leaders and sector representative groups. These events will explore the enablers and barriers to good social leadership, and agree a strategic vision to inform the development of social leadership in the future. The task and finish group has met twice and will finalise its plans in the coming months.

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 78 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, what steps his Department has taken to convene key stakeholders to explore how they can collectively help to develop strong local support systems for social sector organisations.

Mims Davies: Since the Strategy was published we have been holding exploratory conversations with stakeholders at national and local level. These conversations are helping to improve our understanding of the complexity and diverse nature of support systems, particularly in the local context. We intend to continue these conversations over the coming months as we work to finalise plans for the future.

Third Sector

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 84 of the Government's Civil Society Strategy published in August 2018, what steps his Department has taken to work through the Digital Skills Partnership to help civil society organisations to build their skills, boosting collaboration between the government, civil society, and business to tackle the digital skills gap.

Mims Davies: Through the Digital Skills Partnership, my department is helping civil society organisations to build their skills. Since publishing the Civil Society Strategy, the Office for Civil Society established the Charity Digital Skills Partnership for this purpose. The group consists of wide ranging organisations, such as Tech Trust, CAST (Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology), and Lloyds Banking Group amongst others. The group meets quarterly and helped to design the Digital Leadership Fund, launched in November, which is investing up to £1m into upskilling civil society leaders so they can confidently embed digital into their organisations.

Telecommunications: National Security

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2019 to Question 214092 on Telecommunications: National Security, whether the Government's existing comprehensive range of powers to protect national security includes the exclusion of a company supplying UK telecoms critical national infrastructure with equipment on national security grounds.

Margot James: The security of our Critical National Infrastructure is of paramount importance and Government considers any national risks to telecommunications infrastructure on a case by case basis. The Government has a range of powers to protect national security, and will take action where appropriate to address any risk arising in the telecoms sector. It would not be appropriate to comment in detail on matters of national security. DCMS is leading a cross-government review of the UK telecoms supply chain. This is considering the appropriate regulatory and policy levers, to ensure the security and resilience of UK telecoms networks and services as well as the quality, availability and long-term cost of telecoms equipment. The review will conclude in Spring 2019 and the terms of reference are available on gov.uk.

Subversion

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made with the Minister for the Cabinet Office on the effect on democracy of the prevalence of deepfake videos.

Margot James: We have seen no evidence that deepfakes, or other, techniques have been used to successfully interfere in the UK’s democratic processes. We actively engage with international partners, civil society, and industry to tackle disinformation and propaganda. This includes identifying and promoting technical solutions that can be used to detect false content, including deepfakes.

Public Service Broadcasting

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the role of public service broadcasters on the provision of educational content for children.

Margot James: We recognise the importance of the provision of children’s content, as it stimulates learning and informs young people’s understanding of the world around them. Ofcom, as the independent regulator of television and radio, is currently reviewing public service broadcasters’ plans to address concerns relating to the current level of children’s programming. We look forward to Ofcom’s report, which is due to be published this Summer. Government is also supporting children’s content through the Contestable Fund, launching in April 2019. The pilot will provide up to £60 million to support the provision and plurality of children’s content, on free to air, Ofcom-regulated platforms, including the commercial public service broadcasters.

Public Service Broadcasting

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment he has made of the continuing efficacy of prominence rules in ensuring that viewers can access easily public service content.

Margot James: Under the Digital Economy Act 2017, the government required Ofcom to publish a report which looks at the ease of finding PSB content across all platforms. Ofcom’s consultation on proposed changes to the linear EPG Code and the future of the prominence regime closed in October 2018 and the government looks forward to Ofcom’s publication of its findings.

Prime Minister

10 Downing Street: Flags

Patrick Grady: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2019 to Question 215221 on 10 Downing Street: Flags, whether there are any plans to raise the flag of the European Union above Downing Street in order for it to be ceremonially lowered on the day the UK leaves the EU.

Mrs Theresa May: We have no plans to lower the EU flag on leaving the European Union, as it is already the case that the EU flag is not flown.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition Act 2004

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the timetable is for the publication of the Government's response to the Gender Recognition Act consultation.

Victoria Atkins: From 3 July to 22 October 2018, the Government ran a public consultation on reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in order to make the gender recognition process less bureaucratic and intrusive for the people that use it.We received over 100,000 responses to the consultation and we are now working to analyse these. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Domestic Abuse: Females

Nigel Huddleston: What steps the Government is taking to support women who have experienced domestic abuse.

Victoria Atkins: On 21 January we published a draft Domestic Abuse Bill, which includes a ground-breaking series of measures to promote awareness, support victims, tackle perpetrators and improve services.   We have also published a package of non-legislative actions that will see further support for children affected by domestic abuse, the elderly, disabled, male and migrant victims and those in the LGBTQ community.   Ending domestic abuse remains an absolute priority for this government.

Family Planning: Clinics

Dr Rupa Huq: What recent steps the Government has taken to ensure the safety of women using family planning clinics.

Victoria Atkins: No-one should feel harassed or be intimidated simply for exercising their legal right to healthcare advice and treatment. We recognise that anti-abortion protests outside clinics can leave patients distressed. The steps that the Government is taking to support women who are affected in this way are set out in the Written Ministerial Statement my Rt Hon Friend, the Home Secretary, issued on 13 September 2018.

Sexual Harassment: Employment

Helen Whately: What steps the Government is taking to tackle sexual harassment at work.

Victoria Atkins: The Government strongly condemns sexual harassment in the workplace, and is committed to seeing it end. We will consult this summer to ensure legal protections against workplace harassment are robust, and we are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on a new code of practice to ensure that employers are clear on their responsibilities.